This is a tricky one, at least from a political standpoint. What is How's Your News? In a nutshell, it's a group of mentally handicapped men and woman on a road trip across the continental United States, stopping to interview people they encounter at random. They consider themselves reporters and have no qualms about going up to the average man or woman on the street and asking them whatever pops into their head at any given time.

At first glance, this documentary may sound like it runs the risk of being horribly insulting and in very bad taste but once you sit down and watch the thing, it's obvious that nothing could be further from the truth. This film gives its participants the chance to get out and see the country, interact with people they'd never otherwise get to meet, see sights they'd otherwise never see, and travel across the continent in a brightly colored motorhome. Sounds like fun to me.

Highlights of the film include stops at the Grand Canyon where things are put into perspective in accordance with how the Brady Bunch enjoyed their trip there as well. Seeing Susan Harrington do her own rendition of Respect at a 'make your own music video' booth in Las Vegas is quite impressive as well, if only for her sheer raw enthusiasm. Moments like these, that are oddly hilarious and somehow touching at the same time. They don't even think to let their disabilities get in the way of enjoying what life has to offer them and to see them tackle their tasks head on like they do is not only wonderfully inspiring, but also immensely entertaining.

From a technical standpoint, the film isn't anything to write home about as far as cinematography or editing goes. It's not breaking any new ground in that regard and isn't going to wow you with lush visuals or carefully calculated color schemes. It's all about the content here, and the content is strong enough that the movie doesn't require anything more as far as production values are concerned than what it has. It's simple, and effective.

So while it may at first glance seem like crass exploitation, How's Your News? is actually one of those feel good movies that works based simply on its sincerity and its zealous love of life. It's not sugary, it's not sappy. It's real and it's hilarious and it's moving.

Video:

Presented as it was composed, in a 1.33.1 transfer, How's Your News? looks pretty solid despite some issues with the source material. Seeing how most of this material was shot on camcorders under different lighting conditions and in different environments, the quality and overall look of the footage varies quite a bit. As an average though, the picture quality is nice and bright with a decent level of detail obvious throughout and only minor aliasing and edge enhancement noticeable.