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Pay 2 Play: Democracy's High Stakes

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80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings

Critics Reviews

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Martin Tsai Los Angeles Times 12/23/2014
For an advocacy agitprop, the film has researched, sourced and interviewed exhaustively. Go to Full Review
Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post 09/11/2014
2.5/4
Ennis is an optimist at heart, and his belief that one person can make a difference is infectious, if naive. Go to Full Review
Robert Roten Laramie Movie Scope 01/01/2015
B
Serves as a primer, and as a wake up call for those unfamiliar with the Citizen's United decision, gerrymandering, vote suppression, ALEC, the Koch Brothers, and the many other ways money corrupts politics. Go to Full Review
Rob Thomas Madison Movie 10/01/2014
2.5/4
Sometimes watching "Pay 2 Play" is like playing "Monopoly" with a six-year-old; they're into the game for a while, but then their mind wanders away to focus on the cat or that they really want some ice cream. Go to Full Review
Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru 09/13/2014
8.25/10
Persuasive and frightening. It's much more illuminating and thorough than Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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04/16/2016 Documentary is quite good. We used a shorter version to show to people. Getting money out of politics is the #1 problem we have in America since almost all our legislation is passed because of bribery from corporations and special interests. Background checks are a prime example of that. See more 03/31/2016 I hosted Pay 2 Play with Tugg.com and had a near sell out crowd in support of www.DemocacySpring.org and www.MAYDAY.US. Pay 2 Play was my inspiration when I first saw the film, which is insightful, and provides the right amount of comic relief in light of the fight we are up against. I encourage all to see or host this movie to help promote this worthiest of causes, One Person, One Vote! See more 11/18/2014 Following the electoral process through various outlets, John Ennis' "Pay 2 Play" is a captivating film about the influence and dangers of money in politics. Well researched and thoroughly explored, Ennis provides diverse perspectives from several academic lenses and case studies. Ennis takes the viewer on a journey to discover the truth behind the current American system of election campaigning, and the consequences that entails for us "Washington outsiders." Exploring Citizens United, Corporate Personhood, Hobby Lobby, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), the Koch Bothers, and more, Ennis gives a detailed background to influential cases and actors that have made this disaster possible. By interviewing professors, lawyers, constitutional scholars, and the like, Ennis provides a nuanced analysis of how this problem is affecting us, what it means for our political system, and what we can do. See more 11/18/2014 Phenomenal film. Inspiring, empowering, encouraging. Ennis addresses everything wrong with our current system of politics by providing an overview for how money has been able to infiltrate politics (Citizens United & ALEC) and how it affects us, the people. He interviews academics, lobbyists, lawyers, and others to give a comprehensive understanding of the various facets of what the problem is, and how it affects us. Ennis follows two congressional candidates who both run on platforms that focus on raising money from people, not corporations. Both candidates lose to their opponent- an incumbent swimming in corporate funding. The film does an excellent job at not only riling the audience up, but also giving them hope for what they can do. Whether it is protesting, creating art on the street, or making films about money in politics, Ennis motivates people to believe that we all can make a difference- every single one of us. See more 10/30/2014 The most interesting piece of Pay 2 Play is its use of Monopoly, the cherished childhood game, as a metaphor for the dysfunction and corruption of Washington. In Monopoly, the winner is the last man standing, money in hand, after he's bankrupted all of his opponents - sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Monopoly was the perfect foil for our political roller coaster, down to the inclusion of "board flippers." Remember as a kid when Monopoly made you so mad you just... flipped the board? After watching Pay 2 Play, I wanted to do the same thing with Washington - turn it all upside down and start from scratch. See more 10/05/2014 A MUST vs. a "should" see film for it takes a complicated topic and connects all of the dots of what is wrong so that anyone can easily comprehend the corruption and subversion of our democracy by money and bought-and-paid-for elected employees. Mr. Ennis as well as his stellar film team, Holly Mosher [executive producer] also provides six [6] ways each one of us can implement to ensure a government of the people, by the people and for the people. See more Read all reviews
Pay 2 Play: Democracy's High Stakes

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Movie Info

Director
John Ennis