I don’t give a damn what anyone says, HBO is THE best network on television, and many times I would take their documentaries/TV movies over what’s in theaters. And if you need further evidence then check out “Game Change,” their TV movie that premiered this Saturday night and was better than anything put into theaters this weekend.
“Game Change,” of course, details the Republican side of the 2008 presidential nomination. [Unlike Game Change the BOOK, which details both sides of the nomination…and for the record I would love to see Obama, Clinton, and Edwards get the TV movie treatment down the road.]
Now, for hard core political junkies like myself, there may not be a lot of information in this that we don’t already know. In fact the broad strokes of “Sarah Palin dumb and/or temperamental, McCain overwhelmed by his own campaign, and McCain’s campaign staff not vetting her properly” would be known by even the casual observer of politics (of which Sarah Palin is decidedly NOT in the beginning of the movie). And yet I would absolutely recommend the movie anyway, and say that people not only should see it, but need to see it.
For one thing, the performances are just too good to pass up. Admit it, we all watch movies like “The Iron Lady” to see how well Meryl Streep can channel Margaret Thatcher, and half of what makes a biopic work is if someone is doing an impersonation or a real portrayal.
In “Game Change,” Ed Harris and Julianne Moore do real portrayals. Moore is terrific as the immature, eventually unmanageable Sarah Palin whose arrogance is only surpassed by her ignorance. Harris is just as good as the quietly demoralized John McCain, trying to run a clean campaign while everyone knows he’d be better off going dirty, and it reminds you of what a class act the guy can be. [Wonder if Romney will have those same principles?] Plus, you’ve got Woody Harrelson being equally great as McCain’s enjoyably ferocious senior campaign adviser whose eyes are gradually opened to what a lousy VP Palin would really make.
For a second thing, there are a mountain of details that are just too priceless. Little things like Palin having no idea what the Federal Reserve is or why North and South Korea are different countries are not only terrifying because she was a heartbeat away from the presidency, but also because she was still the GOVERNOR of a state. Not the hardest state to manage but still a state. [I’ll also guarantee you that Alabama’s new Governor—-who went from pimple popping dermatologist to the Governor’s mansion—-couldn’t answer much more than Palin did either.]
And in that way the movie gets at the real problem of contemporary politics: it’s all about star power, and not that people have any grasp of the facts. In fact, the Tea Party movement says experience is a bad thing. William Golding once famously said about Hollywood “Nobody knows nothing,” but we now live in political system where people not only accept their politicians that way, but like ’em that way. Grade: A-
Bonus Review: “Exporting Raymond,” is another HBO product. It’s a documentary that details “Everybody Loves Raymond” being remade for a Russian television audience, and it is funny, enlightening about the TV business, and a subtle culture commentary on how the broader something is, the more it plays internationally. [Just take a look at all the U.S. movies that do big business in Europe and tell me they aren’t pieces of shit.] Anyway, see it. Grade: B+