Michael Moore: ‘American Exceptionalism Is the Death of Us’

“Mike’s Happy Movie” was the working title of Michael Moore’s latest documentary, “Where to Invade Next,” but few would consider its examination of American ills — from runaway college tuition to mass incarceration — the stuff of bubbly, feel-good delight.

Director Michael Moore, second from left, poses with people in his film, from left Jenny Tumas, Amel Smaoui and Pasi Sahlberg at the "Where to Invade Next" premiere on day 1 of the Toronto International Film Festival at The Princess of Wales Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in Toronto. Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

TORONTO—“Mike’s Happy Movie” was the working title of Michael Moore’s latest documentary, “Where to Invade Next,” but few would consider its examination of American ills — from runaway college tuition to mass incarceration — the stuff of bubbly, feel-good delight.

Yet “Where to Invade Next,” in which Moore plunders foreign (mostly European) ideas like Italy’s government-mandated vacation or Portugal’s decriminalized drug use to bring back home to America, has an unmistakable whiff of hope.

Director Michael Moore attends the "Where to Invade Next" premiere on day 1 of the Toronto International Film Festival at The Princess of Wales Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015, in Toronto. Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP