Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Top 6: Election Day movies

It’s a rainy Election Day here in Southern California (I know!), and I hear there’s more of the same around the country. So before or after you cast your vote, curl up on the couch with one of these great flicks:

Primary Colors – Oh, Slick Willy, what a time we had. Bill Clinton circa 1992 is the obvious inspiration for this movie about a long-shot candidate for president who has a brilliant political mind and a genuine love for average folks, but is somewhat lacking in the moral compass department. Kathy Bates is at her Kathy Batesian best as a campaign aid.

The Candidate – Robert Redford and the late, great Peter Boyle star in this one about a young lawyer who agrees to run for the Senate only after being guaranteed he’ll lose. His campaign ends up doing surprisingly well, and his personal scruples go accordingly down the drain.

Bulworth – Warren Beatty discovers his inner brotha and saves the world. Or something. It's actually been ages since I’ve seen this, but I remember liking it. And Halle Berry is hottt.

Election – When you think of Reese Witherspoon today, the term “black comedy” doesn’t usually come to mind. But the movie that in many ways launched her career is one of the most bitingly funny films of the last ten years. Set around a high school election on Omaha, Neb., Witherspoon is phenomenal as the scary-ambitious Tracy Flick, and Matthew Broderick is hilarious as the nice-guy teacher trying to take her down. Online magazine Slate even managed to find some similarities between this movie and the 2008 race.

All the President’s Men – Robert Redford makes the list again (he really is dreamy in these ‘70s era films) in this movie about Watergate from the perspective of Woodward and Bernstein. Sometimes its fun to remember a time when the press did more than point out which politicians wore flag pins.

Dave – Kevin Klein plays a guy who looks exactly like the President, and gets called in for imposter duty when the real President has a stroke. Far fetched? Hell yes. Entertaining in that timeless, Prince and Pauper kind of way? Of course. I especially love Klein’s scenes with Sigourney Weaver’s first lady character.


Don’t forget to vote ya’ll! Remember, it’s about the kids.

13 comments:

Falwless said...

I'm pretty sure I've seen all of these. Wait, I haven't seen Primary Colors. Or The Candidate. And I haven't watched Bulworth yet, or Election. Actually I haven't viewed Dave or All The President's Men, either. The first sentence of this comment was very misleading.

Red said...

Unlike Fal, I've seen all these movies and they are all stellar. And Robert Redford was super dreamy back in the day.

Anonymous said...

wait, TODAY is Nov 4th? How did I miss this?

I have only seen Election.

Red said...

The thing I love most about _Election_ is the way Ferris Beuller has become Ed Rooney. Plus, Reese is fabulous. As per usual

paperback reader said...

I always liked Bob Roberts, though that's more politics in general than Presidential. And The Contender was a pretty decent sleeper, too.

Nooch said...

What's with the rain on election day Liz? Kind of reminds me of a certain last scene of the best show on earth.

BeckEye said...

Now, how can you mention Kathy Bates and NOT John Travolta - the STAR OF THE MOVIE???? Arrrrrrgh arrgh arrgh.

words...words...words... said...

Election is awesome. And Bulworth is a great movie that nobody saw. Well, now I know at least two of us did.

Liz said...

Don't hit me Beckeye, but I have a longstanding dislike of John Travolta. While he was good in Primary Colors, I'm physically incapable of giving him props. Sorry.

And yay for the Veronica Mars shout out, Nooch!

BeckEye said...

Liz, if I could reach through my computer, I would definitely hit you. How can you dislike Travolta when he's so damn likable??

Liz said...

I don't know why exactly, there's just something about him that bugs me. Maybe I'm prejudiced against Scientologists. I should work on it, do some soul searching.

Garney said...

We did top ten political film lists on our last blogtalkradio broadcast for The Three Amoviegoers, and this was my list:
1. Being There
2. Dr. Strangelove
3. Nixon
4. The Contender
5. Wag the Dog
6. The American President
7. Election
8. Dick
9. Dave
10. Air Force One

The movie I forgot about that I wish I would've included was Kansas City.

Malcolm said...

I sometimes wonder what Tracy Flick is up to these days. Whatever it is that she's up to, I think it's safe to say that it's nefarious and that no one in her midst has any idea. If they do, Tracy already has plans to destroy them.