Facebook. Is. Everywhere. This obvious, but still terrifying, fact, is how TV personality and director Brant Pinvidic chooses to introduce audiences to his latest documentary, Why I’m Not on Facebook. As a millennial who actually doesn’t have a Facebook myself, Pinvidic’s reasonings for shunning the social network definitely peaked my curiosity. And in just over an hour, he seems to hit on every pro and con that comes with an online profile. Despite an interesting premise and a seemingly built-in audience, it’s a shame that the low production value and over-abundance of gimmicks distract from the film’s bigger message about the societal impact of the Facebook revolution.

It only took about six years for the phenomenon that is Facebook to go from small college campuses to the White House. Currently, there are more than a billion people registered and its founder Marc Zuckerberg has become as recognizable a name as The Beatles or Ronald McDonald. As Facebook has increasingly become an overwhelming part of how we communicate with others, it wasn’t until his preteen son expressed a desire to join the network that Pinvidic really became aware of its grasp and set out on a mission, with cameras in tow, to answer the question, “Is something wrong with Facebook, or is something wrong with me?”

So Pinvidic set out on a mission and with cameras in tow, tried to answer the question, “Is something wrong with Facebook, or is something wrong with me?”

Interviews from the infamous Winklevoss twins Cameron and Tyler prove entertaining as they share that despite the very public legal battle against the corporation, they do in fact have Facebook profiles. Pop cultural celebrities like Dr. Drew Pinsky and Rosanne Barr are familiar faces as they talk about how Facebook affects them and the narcissism of it all.

Why I’m Not on Facebook should serve as inspiration for all documentary filmmakers who have the motivation to create but feel held back financially. Granted, it looks as if this film was made in the early 2000s’ with flip cameras as a major source of capturing footage, yet, through a little detective work, I figured out it was actually made in 2012- shocking! Overall the film feels too hokey to be taken seriously, and while it is intentionally cheesy- perhaps to intrigue younger audience members- there are more than a few moments when I questioned Pinvidic’s direction. An animated Mark Zuckerburg turning into a human-eating alien during the film’s title sequence should give you a good idea of the movie’s tone.

There are other, perhaps better, movies about the Facebook phenomenon that don’t feel as dated as this one. Cyber-Seniors, for example, is a timeless documentary that deals with senior citizens navigating the internet and using Facebook for the first time. Then there is, of course, David Fincher’s The Social Network which brought Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal as Mark Zuckerberg a nomination for Best Lead Actor. Why I’m Not on Facebook is a very thorough examination about the social media’s effect on our generation, but visually the film looks dated and feels about 5 years too late in its release to fully make an impact.

Why I’m Not on Facebook opens on VOD today.

Morgan Rojas

Certified fresh. For disclosure purposes, Morgan currently runs PR at PRETTYBIRD and Ventureland.