At this time of the year, people tend to think of huge blockbuster movies when they think of entertainment. That has been particularly the case this year especially when one includes Kubrick's last film, "Eyes Wide Shut," and the first Star Wars film in almost a decade. With all the excitement in the multiplexes, moviegoers tend to forget that politics can, and often has been, entertainment as well. In fact, this particular year has offered up a few efforts that, if they were regular films, would almost certainly have earned an Oscar nomination or two. Without further ado, here are our reviews for the year's best political movies so far:
"Sex, Lies, and Audiotape." This political saga about a president's affair with his intern and the travails of the special investigator who comes after him transfixed the nation. Bill Clinton stars as the clue-less Commander in Chief who wants to 'get his groove on'; Monica Lewinsky, a newcomer from Beverly Hills, is the intern; and Ken Starr, producer and director, also doubles as special prosecutor in the film.
Lee: Well, I really must say this movie took too damn long to shoot ... I mean, come on, I won't mention any names ("Titanic") but I've seen special-effects saturated blockbusters that were shot in less time. And this movie was all live action! And another thing: only Congress could have budgeted a movie so bureaucratic, anticlimactic, and .. .full of passes at Bills! I give it just one thumb up, and even that one is moving towards my nose as we speak...
Seun: OK, granted the action was a bit slow and the dialogue a bit heavy. But all in all it was a pretty interesting drama, and it was almost believable; you could actually imagine something like it happening. However, I think the fact that this was Ken Starr's first effort as a director hurt the film, and going over budget didn't help matters much either, not to mention casting Lewinsky as the intern... I mean, how about Christina Ricci, or Alicia Silverstone? I think I agree with you on this one - a tentative one thumb up.
Lee: Good point on Starr's first venture as an indie filmmaker. I mean, when Clinton was testifying, I thought I was watching "Pulp Diction"! Look out, Tarantino!!
Seun: Now for our second movie: "Wag the Dog 3: Slobocop." This sequel seemed much weaker than either the first or second efforts. Frankly, I expected a lot more action than they showed, and the concept of fighting a war from the air just doesn't seem to hold water - ask anyone at the Pentagon. It was a good idea, though, showing how a local Balkans conflict could escalate into something bigger. However I think I'm going to have to give this one a thumbs down: the acting was bad, the plot rather thin, and there wasn't much in the way of special effects to make up for the missing pieces.
Lee: You have to wake up pretty early in the morning to outsmart moviegoers, and making a second sequel to a series is even harder to pull off than declaring war on an unsuspecting country and justifying it to the American people. I did like some of it though, like Dustin Hoffman's idea of adding blues music and Willie Nelson to the soundtrack. Still, the excitement of the movie just didn't escalate quite like the tempers of Slobo and company in the Balkans.
Seun: Next on our list : "Another League of Their Own." It's in the genre of the inspirational sports movies (like the "Mighty Ducks," obviously). I actually liked this a lot, except, ironically, for the fact that the sports scenes were a little long. But the cliffhanger at the end against the Chinese team was brilliant, and the acting by Mia Hamm and Co. was as good as anything I've ever seen from Hollywood pros. I'll give this a thumbs up.
Lee: I actually didn't see the whole movie, only snippets but man, that crowd of macho men really loved their women's soccer team! I think this could turn into a Cold War for Women type scenario a Capitalist-Communist Catfight, if you will. Sports is all about traditional rivalries, and what's more traditional than the Cold War? This new twist adds a '90s type of liberation to it we are women of all politico-economic ideologies, hear us score!
Seun: Talking about the bottom dollar for a second - it was a brilliant idea by the scriptwriters as it reaches out both to women who love sports, and men who love women - witness the gratuitous bra displays at the end of the movie. It's possible we'll even see a sequel or two, as it seems likely to generate a franchise.
Lee: Well, it seems that we can look forward to even more hits in the near future. I've heard rumors of an upcoming project in the works: tentatively titled Rodham and Rodman, it's about an out-of-work basketball star and a gutsy politician's wife who team up together to take on the political establishment. Also in the hoops sphere is "Born to Run," a movie about an ex-basketball player turned senator from New Jersey, who decides to run for president. Rumor is that Bill Bradley has been cast as the lead.
Seun: Sounds like basketball's making a killing in the political fields - what next, Wilt Chamberlain for Supreme [Basketball] Court Justice?
Lee: Well, we hope you enjoyed these reviews and that you will see some of these films next time you're looking for some entertainment at the polls. See you next time!
