While most people have been dying to see “X-Men: The Last Stand” or “The Omen,” they may literally die if they do not see and adhere to the lessons in Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth.” Never has there been a title that so accurately embodies a film like this one, because the message presented in this movie is inconvenient, but it is also extremely important.

On May 24, “An Inconvenient Truth” opened in only four theaters, two in New York and two in Los Angeles, and on Friday it will open nationwide. The film stars one person, Al Gore, vice president to President Bill Clinton. He introduces himself, with the self-deprecation that accents the film, with the statement: “I used to be the next president of the United States.”

His costar in the film, directed by Davis Guggenheim, is planet Earth.

The movie is about global warming and its effect on the planet and on the future of the human race.

Using graphs, diagrams, animated shorts (one was from the old TV show “Futurama”), captivating quotes, and pictures of various locations on the planet, Gore brings his point home. The human race is destroying the most important thing we have, our planet itself.
“That is what is at stake-our ability to live on planet Earth,” says Gore in the film.

And while the thought of going to see a film about an Al Gore lecture is enough to give anyone pause, there is nothing to worry about.

Gone is the boring, stuffy, dull vice president/president elect and in his place is Al Gore, a witty, charming, charismatic person who really cares about the planet and the effect global warming is having on it. He is very personable. Viewers find out a lot about his life and how he came to be so involved with global warming.
This movie is laced with comedic moments to balance the scientific data and is very entertaining as well as educational.

According to the film, scientists believe Earth may be unlivable in less than 50 years if people do not stop cutting down trees and creating so much carbon dioxide through the burning of fossil fuels.

With all the carbon dioxide being created, more heat is being trapped inside the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the melting of Antarctica and Greenland, as well as glaciers all over the world. Then the planet gets hotter and hotter as the water heats up. This leads to stronger storms, like hurricane Katrina, and the drying up of critical bodies of water throughout the world.

Gore compares us to a frog and a pot of water. If a frog jumps into a boiling pot of water, it’ll jump right back out. But if it jumps into a pot of water that is cool but is slowly being brought to a boil, it won’t jump out at all. This is depicted in a cute animated short, but don’t worry, the frog is saved at the end of the short, and hopefully the planet will be as lucky.

In one sad moment, Gore mentions how polar bears are actually drowning in their search for bodies of ice to rest on; some swim up to 60 miles trying to find ice that is sufficiently solid.

One of the captivating quotes Gore uses to emphasize his points is a statement by Upton Sinclair, who wrote fictional books about social injustices in the world, the most famous being “The Jungle.”
Sinclair said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Like the fact that they might be helping destroy the world!

A book with the same title “An Inconvenient Truth,” by Al Gore was also released on May 24. For more information about the film, on how one can help stop global warming and to find theaters showing the film, visit the Web site at www.climatecrisis.net.

This is a movie that needs to be seen by everyone, and while it does drag a little in parts, the movie as a whole is well worth seeing. It is also quite a wake-up call.

**** Out of four stars