A season for politically-themed movies

By JOE WEINDL
Special to the Saipan Tribune

Okay, so it turns out we can’t vote in the presidential election after all, lest we lose our local residency. In its place—the mock election, hosted by some NMC students. Helping a student with their school project is always a worthwhile cause, but the hope that the results of our mock election will somehow make stateside headlines is a bit farfetched. The average American has never heard of Saipan, nor do they care to hear what we have to say (don’t shoot the messenger, folks—I’m just reporting the news). Seeing as how Saipan is overall very conservative, I can see the local headlines, already—“Bush wins another fake election.”

Just as the onset of football season makes me yearn for repeat viewings of movies like Remember the Titans and The Replacements, and the Olympics are perfectly accompanied by Cool Runnings and Miracle, election season gets me in the mood for politics. Every year there are one or two good movies made with political themes. You might want to check out Wag the Dog, Primary Colors or The American President. Here are a few of my favorites:

Bulworth (1998)

Disillusioned by the political process, Sen. Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) has grown tired of pandering to the public with clichéd, scripted speeches, while doing the dirty work for his financial contributors. After losing millions in investments, he takes out huge life insurance policies, and hires a hit-man to assassinate himself. Right in the thick of his reelection campaign, and with his impending death just a few days away, he feels free to finally say what’s really on his mind, no matter who it might offend. During his hilarious monologues, he takes stabs at insurance companies, Hollywood executives, and anyone else that might be ruining our country. Along the way, he tries to pick up on hip-hop culture, and starts delivering all his speeches in rhyme.

Bulworth was also written, directed and produced by Beatty, so it’s not surprising that the movie serves to be one giant pulpit for the actor/director that has at times shown to have political aspirations. Beatty is notoriously liberal (as is most of Hollywood), but those of you on the right shouldn’t be turned away from this movie, because Democrats are just as much in Beatty’s cross-hairs as are Republicans. Actually, Beatty is so far left of left that he could be classified as a completely different kind of liberal, falling in rank with the likes of Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader.

Political commentary may be the main point of this movie, but it’s comedy that drives it. Beatty is excellent as Bulworth, and Halle Berry is terrific as the young lady who follows him, seemingly inspired by his newfound truthfulness. There are many memorable lines in Bulworth. The best of the bunch comes when Bulworth offers his theory on how to put an end to racism. I can’t print it, but you’ll recognize it when you see it.

Thirteen Days (2000)

Unlike Bulworth, Thirteen Days doesn’t offer up any political commentary to chew on, but is instead an historical exposé, recounting the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, told from the perspective of one of JFK’s top assistants, Kenny O’Donnell (Kevin Costner). It is a tense dramatic thriller, and offers insight on the inner workings of the Oval Office, during some of the most dangerous days in American history.

As far as I can tell, from a little web-based research, the script takes great liberties in the interest of creating a watchable story (and to create more lines for Kevin Coster). In the larger picture, though, the historical inaccuracies are minor, because they only involve who said what and when, whereas the greater events taking place, and just how frighteningly close we came to nuclear holocaust are hit with dead accuracy.

While most thrillers rely on gunplay and boogey-men jumping out of dark shadows, director Roger Donaldson somehow finds a way to keep you on the edge of your seat, with nail-biting suspense, with barely anything more than a bunch of dudes arguing with each other about how to best avoid the end of the world.

The only part of the Cold War I’m old enough to remember is the tail end of it. By then, the threat of nuclear war was remote, and not very scary. It’s been reported to me, by some who are old enough to remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, that Thirteen Days does a perfect job recreating the absolute fear that consumed the nation during those fateful days in Oct., 1962.

Bob Roberts (1992)

Written and directed by, and starring Tim Robins, Bob Roberts is a political satire of a folk-singing Wall St. millionaire running for U.S. Senate. Like Beatty, Robins is another Hollywood liberal whose political proclivities are far left of left. Unlike Bulworth, though, Bob Roberts is not an equal opportunity offender, clearly targeting those on the right.

Bob Roberts is a “mockumentary,” shot in the same style as This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show. While some people will love it, of the three movies I’ve recommended today, this is probably the one with the narrowest appeal. Cynics who’ve become fed up and with and distrustful of our political process will probably appreciate it more than others.