Grade: B | Genre: Documentary
Summary: As with any film with an ax to grind, Wal-mart: The High Cost of Low Price isn't nearly as effective as it could be if it took a more level approach to its commentary, but it is an eye opening array of facts that support its case very effectively.

When I first started college at Georgia Southern, Statesboro had just gotten its first Wal-mart. Not just any Wal-mart, but a Wal-mart Supercenter. It was a hulking behemoth that dwarfed the small college town in its shadow. This one-stop shopping center was largely seen as an overwhelming plus since you could get your tires rotated, eyes checked and weekly grocery shopping wrapped all under the same roof. It was a mini city that you really had no need to ever leave as Novalee discovers in Where the Heart Is. As the months on the calendar fell to the floor, the town started to realize the harsh unspoken undercurrent felt when Wal-mart moves in. Half the grocery stores went belly up. Only the Publix and the Piggly Wiggly, right off campus, could compete. Also, many mom and pop stores, like the Ace Hardware, saw their business cut so drastically that they couldn't afford to keep their doors open. Some of these businesses had been fixtures of this communities for several generations. We saw the power that this one store held, crippling small businesses and putting consumers under its mystical spell. The new documentary film Wal-mart: the High Cost of Low Price takes on the retail giant to shed some much needed light on the sins and corporate malfeasance of the company that defines America every bit as much as McDonald's.