This documentary of his journey is made in the feisty spirit of independent media, budgeted at a tiny fraction of Moore's recent films. It acts like a time machine, returning us to the weeks prior to the November 2, 2004, election, when campuses across the country were exhilarated by a sense of hope and urgency. Moore masterfully foments this energy, speaking to audiences as large as fifteen thousand. He riles up the crowd with his hilarious improvisation, riffing off the day's headlines or responding to hecklers. He also brings a star-studded lineup of friends---we see appearances and performances by Roseanne Barr, Eddie Vedder, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Earle and Joan Baez, among others.