ann arbor is overrated.

As soon as we heard about the film “Whale Rider,” which involves a Maori girl and whales, we knew it would be an instant hit at the Michigan Theater. Endangered wildlife and a different culture - what else could Ann Arbor filmgoers want? Also playing at the Michigan right now is “Winged Migration,” a French film about migrating birds.

But if you want to see “Capturing the Friedmans,” the documentary about a 1980’s Long Island sexual abuse case that has critics trotting out words like “devastating” and “masterpiece,” you’ll probably have to wait for your next trip to Chicago. Neither Mlive nor the Free Press list it as playing anywhere in Michigan. Perhaps we could convince the Michigan Theater that “friedmans” are actually a rare species of salamander imperiled by hunters seeking to capture them. Add something about the hunters working for a nefarious multinational corporation, and a group of indigenous people working to stop them - it’s pure A2 gold!