I urge you to catch up to this TV docu-drama now running on HBO. I saw this depiction of the voting mess in Florida during the 2000 Presidential election and it is wonderfully balanced. As a moderate who pretty much hates both sides of the political aisle, "Recount" does a terrific job of showing all the flaws of both the Democrats and Republicans as they tried to piece together what was a complete and insane breakdown in the voting process.
For a movie that was produced by predominantly left-leaning Hollywood, such an even keel is no easy feat. Kudos to all involved, especially producer Sydney Pollack. He was originally scheduled to direct "Recount," but backed out when he got the news of the cancer that would ultimately kill him last weekend. He still has his name amongst the producing credits and it is a great capper to a terrific career.
"Recount" plays out as intricately as "All The President's Men." Indeed, the very first scene shows you just how screwed up Florida was and probably still is. Never has there been a better argument to cut a state from the Union. You see some old canasta playing biddy, probably on her way to the early bird special at Applebee's, trying to vote. It's one of those push-pen ballots that we have used in LA for years. You see the ballot and you watch this fossil's confusion at which candidate to push for. I'm looking at it and I'm wondering. What the hell is so hard about this, you old broad, you? Plus the Board of Elections usually sends you a diagram and a brochure ahead of time. If these moronic senior citizens spent a few minutes reading those instead of checking the lotto numbers, this whole Florida shitstorm would not even have happened. As far as I'm concerned, once you hit 70 in that state, not only should they confiscate your car keys, but you should also be given regular aptitude tests to make sure you can still perform simple functions. Of course, the whole issue could be easily negated if we simply annexed the whole state to Israel. But, I digress...
"Recount" also surprised me in a way it probably shouldn't. I probably can't be that stunned when you see how much of a political candidate is controlled, steered, and actually puppeted by the machine behind him or her. Every word, action, gesture, and nuance is so carefully rehearsed and planned. It's one more indictment for me of the phony two party system that is choking our country.
But, beyond that angst, "Recount" can still be enjoyed for what it is, because it is truly a very even-handed look at an embarrassing moment in this country's history. If for nothing else, see it for the performance of Laura Dern, who portrays Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris as if she was Jessica Rabbit. The amazing thing is that the real person is probably not that far off the mark.
Dinner last night: Chinese Chicken Salad at the Cheesecake Factory back in LA.
6 comments:
Don't forget my dear cousin...that you have relatives that reside in Florida and have no difficulty being able to cast a ballot. I find the entire situation quite funny since if you put a bingo card in front of those same voters in South Florida, they would be able to hit the number without a problem.
Also, keep in mind that South Florida continues to grow at a record pace with many of your fellow Californians and New Yorkers opening up businesses and courting tourism to visit their locals.
Correction: what I should have said is people in Florida can't vote...except for several folks who are related to me and reside in the area around Clearwater and New Port Richey. You are hereby excused from any of my snarky comments about the state of Florida.
But I love the bingo card reference and I will steal it for later use.
Meanwhile, forget about the stupidity of the people. I can't understand why Florida has grown so much. It's so hot!
Florida, it's said, is a New Yorker's idea of Heaven. (Remember those NY winters and you'll understand.)
And a haven for New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio.....should I go on.
And, perhaps we should annex California and New York as well if we are going to annex Florida for the make-up of its residents!
Regardless of the state, I thik we're ALL in trouble come next January 21.
Everybody ask for a helmet this Christmas. We'll need them.
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