Never approaching its own ambition with results, the new documentary by Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock not only falls short of its goals but it also screams of vanity.

Beginning with the hypothesis that he doesn't know whether he wants to bring his unborn child into a dangerous world that can be reduced to rubble by terrorists, Spurlock begins a quest to find or at least track down Osama Bin Laden, the most wanted man in the world.

Spurlock's wife is seen pregnant during the film, and while it's not a question of having compassion for the couple if they are indeed worried about the impact of Bin Laden, the subplot about the impending birth is too large a part of the film.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? could be something special. It could be many things special, in fact. It could be an absurd look at the Bush Administration's constant bungling of foreign policy in general and the Bin Laden "search" in particular. It could be an introduction to a world of Islam rarely seen by Americans, one that sets out to showcase its differences and similarities to Western, Judeo-Christian culture. It could be an actual journey to find Bin Laden walking around in the mountains of Pakistan. But it is instead a weak mish mash of all of those influences, plus the baby rearin', all overseen by an increasingly smug and self-important ringleader in Morgan Spurlock.

His personality fit Super Size Me very well, and even though that film was not a straight line from point A to point B either, since it was such a personal story, having Spurlock front and center, the way Michael Moore handles his business, was the correct choice. This film suffers from too much Morgan Spurlock and not enough of one consistent train of thought.

It left me wondering where in the world is Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

Starring Morgan Spurlock

Directed by Morgan Spurlock

Rated PG-13

Review by Colin Boyd

April 18, 2008