A couple of years ago, "engaged citizen" Colin Beavan threw down the gauntlet to complacent environmentalists by going to extreme measures -- beginning a year-long project to live in New York City trying to make as little environment impact as possible. Beavan corralled his family -- a two year old daughter and a very patient wife -- to go along with him in his experiment, and documented the results on his blog “No Impact Man.”

Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's zippy and frequently hilarious documentary chronicles Beavan’s efforts to push the personal environmental envelope. The film is by turns well-meaning, sanctimonious, self-serving, and at times completely screwy. Its subject clearly believes in his quixotic quest but he is also a good showman and self-promoter – his appearances on The Colbert Report, Martha Stewart, WNYC radio, and ABC News are a big part of the film and the film's release coincides with the September 8th release of his book No Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process.

No Impact Man documents Beavan’s systematically shedding the modern comforts of urban family life: No transportation, no TV, no trash (all their biodegradable garbage is consumed by a fly-laden worm compost heap in a shoebox), no restaurants or take-out, no newspapers or magazines, no toilet paper, no plastic diapers, no store-bought cleaning products or cosmetics, and no electricity.

No Impact Man could easily have been another strident environmentalist jeremiad. But Beavan’s earnest fervor is often matched by the Eve Arden sarcasm of his wife Michelle Conlin, who has been dragged practically kicking and screaming into this endeavor; she serves as a welcome audience surrogate to Beavan and his crazy quest. The sight of No-Impact Man smugly whipping up eggs while his wife grovels before him for permission to drink a cup of coffee is enough to make us want to hurl a locally-produced pie at him. But luckily, the wise-cracking Conlin can usually hold her own. As a result, the film becomes something of a screwball take on a well-intentioned environmentalist and his long-suffering wife: Scenes From a Green Marriage.

Beavan wants to prove to the world that one person can make a difference, but it’s hard not to notice that he and his wife are well-to-do New Yorkers with the world at their fingertips. This ain’t Nebraska; walking to work isn’t hard if you only live a few city blocks away. Similarly, it’s a lot easier to buy fresh and often expensive locally-grown produce if you have a bank account and can amble over to Union Square whenever you want. And candlelight can go far in a New York City apartment.

Unfortunately, most people do not live in Fifth Avenue co-ops. Especially nowadays, the average working stiff may not be able to afford locally grown produce or have the time to prepare an environmentally conscious meal even if they wanted to; there’s a reason the dollar menu at MacDonald's is a top seller. No Impact Man may be an entertaining film, but it’s hard not to feel like Colin Beavan’s supposedly universal message will only resonate with a small sliver of its audience.

Aka No Impact Man: The Documentary.



Ready for impact.