David Sirota’s Five Political Comedies
by Andre Soares
Via Truthdig, David Sirota discusses politics and political comedies:
"When President Bush responded to 9/11 and the subsequent economic downturn by ordering us to go shopping, many ignored him and instead went to the movies. That’s the reaction Hollywood depends on to make its pile — and the escapist impulse is nothing if not reliable. In five of the last seven recessions, box office sales have jumped. When the going gets tough, the tough watch films.
"Today is no exception. Theaters are packed, as there is more craziness to flee from than ever. Not only do we face societal emergencies, but our culture is now consumed by a painfully grating and absurdly vapid election addressing none of them — a campaign of trivial non sequiturs that fetishizes flag pins, middle names and (most recently) Ludacris lyrics. Watching the kabuki dance between reporters and candidates that now passes for news causes an understandable urge to take a shower, a gun to one’s head or a trip to the movies."
***
Sirota recommends five political comedies: Frank Popper’s Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? (2006); Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate (1972), written by Jeremy Larner, in which Robert Redford runs for office on a liberal platform (and which I remember as a drama); Walter Hill’s Brewster’s Millions (1985), with Richard Pryor as Montgomery Brewster, who runs for office so as to spend $30 million; Jonathan Lynn’s The Distinguished Gentleman (1992), starring Eddie Murphy; and Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog (1997), with Dustin Hoffman at his best playing a film producer helping the US government fake a war with Albania.
Missing from Sirota’s list are classics (or not-so-classics) about dirty — or just downright scary — Washington dealings, including (admittedly, most of these are dramas): James Cruze’s Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), Gregory La Cava’s Gabriel Over the White House (1933), Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (1963), Franklin J. Schaffner’s The Best Man (1964), and Sidney Lumet’s Fail Safe (1964).
Not to mention the more recent Primary Colors (1998), directed by Mike Nichols, with John Travolta as a Bill Clinton clone; and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004).
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