History comes alive in ‘Game Change’
HBO
ED HARRIS as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in “Game Change.”
Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, after you watch the HBO movie “Game Change,” about the 2008 McCain-Palin GOP ticket, you will discover you both love and hate her.
The film, with the uncanny Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, is based on a book plus articles and interviews with people involved in that celebrated campaign to pull an upset and defeat then Sen. Barack Obama.
The Republicans saw Sen. John McCain as a great statesman and war hero. Obama, meanwhile, was a newcomer with little to show when it comes to accomplishments. Yet Obama stirred up crowds and gained in the polls.
So the McCain staff started looking at vice presidential possibilities to help get another aging white guy into the White House.
Woody Harrelson plays Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign coordinator, who decided instead of finding another aging, boring white guy for the ticket, it needs a game changer.
And how do you find a game changer? Why, by Googling various Republican female politicians. Some weren’t chosen because of ideological differences with McCain.
Then we switched to Palin, then the Alaskan governor, with her kids, looking like everyone's soccer mom, hauling her children about at a fair, talking to constituents by first name.
Then she got a telephone call and is whisked to Arizona and instantly we all like her. She's charming, she's humble, she is anxious to advance the Republican ticket. But she also has principles as she learns she is the top choice as vice presidential candidate .
At an event at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton she was unveiled as McCain's running mate and knocked one out of the park. It seems everyone can relate to her on multiple levels.
She is a smash at the Republican convention. McCain finds himself even with Obama. Life is good. For awhile.
Then the media starts digging up dirt, but even then we side with Palin. Questions are asked if the new baby is hers or her daughter's child. Yeah, it’s Palin’s because daughter is pregnant herself.
Then we discover Palin is ignorant of the political makeup of the world as well as history and geography. She gets a crash course on who our enemies were during World Wars I and II. She learns Queen Elizabeth is not the head of British government. She learns Iraq did not cause 9-11 and Korea isn't one country.
After she refused to prep for an interview on "The Today Show," she looks like a fool and blames others. Palin is suddenly less likable. She is hurt by “Saturday Night Live” parodies. She wants to do interviews with small Alaskan newspapers and demands to know how she is faring in her home state.
She is not above memorizing a series of facts to get through a debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate who is considered a foreign policy expert.
But Palin, a terrific actress, ekes out good debate reviews by repeating those facts she memorized and dodging questions she doesn't have an answer for, then repeating those facts she memorized again.
Moore is dead-on as Palin and the real Schmidt describes the film as "an out of body experience" because it is so accurate.
The real Palin slammed the film, but then, she hadn't seen it.
It rivals "Apollo 13" in how real it feels relating to real events. We see Palin as a many-sided person, sometimes ready to crack up, other times feeling in total control.
Ed Harris plays McCain as a decent guy who wants to win with his ethics intact. After their loss, the McCain character realizes Palin will be a force to reckon with and warns her not to follow the Limbaughs and their ilk in the years ahead, a kind of foreshadowing of what has happened during this year’s campaign.
Moore especially becomes Palin and anyone who followed the 2008 race can feel the authenticity. This is a great, compelling film. It continues to be played on HBO and HBO On Demand will later be released to DVD.
If you enjoy politics, you will like this film. It is not a hatchet job on McCain or Palin or the Republican party by any means.
It is entertainment and education and excellence.
GAME CHANGE • Directed by Jay Roach • Written by Mark Haperin and Danny Strong • Not for young children because of language • Runtime: 2 hours • 5 stars out of 5
HBO
ED HARRIS as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in “Game Change.”
Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, after you watch the HBO movie “Game Change,” about the 2008 McCain-Palin GOP ticket, you will discover you both love and hate her.
The film, with the uncanny Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, is based on a book plus articles and interviews with people involved in that celebrated campaign to pull an upset and defeat then Sen. Barack Obama.
The Republicans saw Sen. John McCain as a great statesman and war hero. Obama, meanwhile, was a newcomer with little to show when it comes to accomplishments. Yet Obama stirred up crowds and gained in the polls.
So the McCain staff started looking at vice presidential possibilities to help get another aging white guy into the White House.
Woody Harrelson plays Steve Schmidt, McCain's campaign coordinator, who decided instead of finding another aging, boring white guy for the ticket, it needs a game changer.
And how do you find a game changer? Why, by Googling various Republican female politicians. Some weren’t chosen because of ideological differences with McCain.
Then we switched to Palin, then the Alaskan governor, with her kids, looking like everyone's soccer mom, hauling her children about at a fair, talking to constituents by first name.
Then she got a telephone call and is whisked to Arizona and instantly we all like her. She's charming, she's humble, she is anxious to advance the Republican ticket. But she also has principles as she learns she is the top choice as vice presidential candidate .
At an event at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton she was unveiled as McCain's running mate and knocked one out of the park. It seems everyone can relate to her on multiple levels.
She is a smash at the Republican convention. McCain finds himself even with Obama. Life is good. For awhile.
Then the media starts digging up dirt, but even then we side with Palin. Questions are asked if the new baby is hers or her daughter's child. Yeah, it’s Palin’s because daughter is pregnant herself.
Then we discover Palin is ignorant of the political makeup of the world as well as history and geography. She gets a crash course on who our enemies were during World Wars I and II. She learns Queen Elizabeth is not the head of British government. She learns Iraq did not cause 9-11 and Korea isn't one country.
After she refused to prep for an interview on "The Today Show," she looks like a fool and blames others. Palin is suddenly less likable. She is hurt by “Saturday Night Live” parodies. She wants to do interviews with small Alaskan newspapers and demands to know how she is faring in her home state.
She is not above memorizing a series of facts to get through a debate with Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate who is considered a foreign policy expert.
But Palin, a terrific actress, ekes out good debate reviews by repeating those facts she memorized and dodging questions she doesn't have an answer for, then repeating those facts she memorized again.
Moore is dead-on as Palin and the real Schmidt describes the film as "an out of body experience" because it is so accurate.
The real Palin slammed the film, but then, she hadn't seen it.
It rivals "Apollo 13" in how real it feels relating to real events. We see Palin as a many-sided person, sometimes ready to crack up, other times feeling in total control.
Ed Harris plays McCain as a decent guy who wants to win with his ethics intact. After their loss, the McCain character realizes Palin will be a force to reckon with and warns her not to follow the Limbaughs and their ilk in the years ahead, a kind of foreshadowing of what has happened during this year’s campaign.
Moore especially becomes Palin and anyone who followed the 2008 race can feel the authenticity. This is a great, compelling film. It continues to be played on HBO and HBO On Demand will later be released to DVD.
If you enjoy politics, you will like this film. It is not a hatchet job on McCain or Palin or the Republican party by any means.
It is entertainment and education and excellence.
GAME CHANGE • Directed by Jay Roach • Written by Mark Haperin and Danny Strong • Not for young children because of language • Runtime: 2 hours • 5 stars out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment