Well, I think it was wonderful that WalMart should commission three short films (miniatures, really) for the occasion of the Oscars. Even better, the retail behemoth selected young, upcoming female directors eager to showcase their talents to a captive audience.
The unstated theme of this project was How WalMart Improves the Lives of Families All Over the World, a challenging subject to address within the one minute running time, but Ms. Meyers managed to pack a lot into her contribution. Mostly relying on stock images (a family Christmas scene, an old person riding a cart, a baby crying in a mother's arms as she leafs through racks of sweat pants), this montage covers a lot of territory.
(I felt that WalMart's sporting goods section may have been given short shrift, given that more firearms enthusiasts buy their weapons at WalMart than any other retailer, but I suspect that this ad, I mean film, was likely tested with focus groups and scored low on the Warm & Fuzzy Index.)
I predict a bright future for Ms. Meyers. She has shown a remarkable savvy for offering the Familiar, the Simple, and the Predictable in her imagery and story. Critics may scoff, but if the public didn't crave the Normal and Safe, would WalMart even exist?
