How you view the movie GAME CHANGE will depend quite a bit
on how you feel politically. There is no way around it. If you are liberal then
you'll find the movie does a great job of pointing out how terrible a person
Sarah Palin was. If you're a conservative you'll find that the movie is little
more than a hatchet job. But if you're like I feel most people are, sort of in
the middle of those two camps, you'll see both aspects of that in this film.
GAME CHANGE is about the elections of 2008 when Barak Obama
came out of nowhere and used the flames of popularity to win the White House.
His campaign was well run and people seemed to adore him much to the
consternation of competitor John McCain (Ed Harris) and his staff. The movie
shows them discussing how to take on Obama and win votes away from him and that
results in a choice that felt to many like it came out of nowhere, the choice
of Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore).
But it wasn't out of nowhere. As the film shows it was a
savvy move to attract voters who were viewing McCain as nothing more than the
same old ancient white man who runs the country. Choosing Palin was a risky
choice but it got the press and the public interested. Chief strategist Steve
Schmidt (Woody Harrelson) is tremendously pleased with his choice once the
numbers begin coming in and it looks as if McCain might actually have a chance
to win.
Up to this point the movie seems pretty even handed and
displays a side of both McCain and Palin that seem like normal people who have
moved on to positions of power. Neither seems evil or out to do damage and both
love their country and what to do what's right. That all changes as the movie
then tries to show Palin as perhaps the most stupid person on the face of the
Earth.
As the strategists try to prep her for interviews and to
make speeches, Palin appears to know absolutely nothing. Their depiction of her
almost nears the point of where you wonder if she has the ability to even know
how to tie her own shoes. Not only that but the film shows the pressure of
having to perform, having to suddenly be thrust before the intense scrutiny of
the press and all without the election team having done the necessary
background checks they were supposed to because they thought someone else had
done it.
The change in the film also shows in how they felt voters
changed as well. When Palin is first announced the crowds go wild and money
begins coming in to help support McCain. When she fails at several interviews
suddenly the film tries to lay the blame of the fall of McCain on Palin's
shoulders. This seemed a bit odd to me since I recall that campaign and how
crowds continued to flock to see Palin up till the last minute and continue to
do so even today.
As the film progresses we see Sarah Palin changing from the
soccer mom governor of Alaska to a power hungry witch who thinks she knows more
than those trying to help her. I have little doubt that there is some truth in
that because the saying that power corrupts. I also believe that the pressure
must have been tremendous on Palin who was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.
Anyone might think they are prepared for that but the intense scrutiny that the
press brought down was unlike any seen in recent times.
So how is the movie? Interesting from start to finish. It
does show a lot of what goes on behind the scenes during an election, perhaps
not as well as THE WAR ROOM documentary about Bill Clinton's election, but it
gives viewers a look at what happens when the doors are closed off to the press.
The performances are what surprised me. Ed Harris does a fantastic job as
McCain making him someone that maybe more people would have voted for if he'd
come off this good. Harrelson also does a great job as a man who was to be the
architect behind a successful for the Presidency who sees it all fall apart.
After all the acclaim and awards Moore won for her
performance here I was stunned to see how weak it truly was. I felt more like I
was watching Tina Fey do her impression of Palin than I was seeing an actor
perform a role. She has the voice and look down but where was that side of
Palin that we didn't see before cameras? According to this film and Moore's
performance there was nothing the least bit sympathetic about Palin. She comes
off as naive and then a total witch with nothing in between. She's portrayed as
being so incredibly stupid as to not know the simplest of things taught in
junior high civics classes. Having been the daughter of a teacher, a news
anchor, a mayor and a governor, I found it incredibly disingenuous for her to
be displayed this way. It felt more like a cheap shot than a does of reality.
As I said from the start, your own belief system will decide
how you feel about this movie. If you love Palin you'll be angry and if you
hate her you'll dance in the streets. I didn't go to either extreme. I just
felt like a great topic for a movie was squandered that so much more could have
been made of. Then again Hollywood seems determined to portray any conservative
character as evil and bad so I shouldn't have been surprised. It would be nice
to see an even handed portrayal of both liberals and conservatives show up but
I won't hold my breath waiting.
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