Childhood friends Tom and Kaleil set up govWorks.com, an internet firm to help with local government. They believe they'll be dot-com millionaires soon, but things don't work out the way they'd anticipated.
D.A. Pennebaker produced this shot-on-video, documentary expose of the dot-com boom - and bust - that left many people without jobs, money and even friends. Ambitious Kaleil and Tom are so convinced of their future success that you just know that it's all going to go horribly wrong. And you'd be right.
Despite being given advice at the outset that their company will fail, they carry on regardless, empowered by their investors and a stream of high-fives, hugs and pep talks. If they had set up a business in self-congratulation, they might have been billionaires by now.
If you have a cruel streak, you may gain some satisfaction in seeing these smug, self-deluded, whiny yuppies come to grief. If you're feeling more charitable, the film becomes uncomfortable to watch around about the break-in scene, as govWorks.com falls to pieces and Tom and Kaleil's friendship suffers. They just aren't prepared for the ruthless capitalism around them that leads to their downfall.
You might feel sorry for Tom when he is eventually sacked, but there's something rather pathetic about the way he continues to wear a govWorks.com baseball cap and T-shirt even after he's been made redundant. In fact the only person you genuinely feel sorry for is his little girl.
To be honest, the intricacies of the business world go over my head, but it's plain that something is not right here - Tom and Kaleil's idea isn't such a bad one, but they're utterly savaged by their competitors. It makes you wonder if a documentary about a successful dot-com business would have been quite as interesting - maybe the documentary makers are the only winners here. Also with: Bill Clinton. Isn't it dangerous to drive while on the 'phone?
