Hillary and Bill - The Movie

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I hope Roger Ebert lives a long life. I never liked his television show (TV sucks as a medium for nuance, to be honest), and he writes for a shit newspaper (The Sun-Times is probably the 7th best paper available in Chicago), but his film reviews are clever, and now he's expanding his scope on a relatively new medium, his blog. To wit, how would you write a fictional movie about the the 2008 Presidential election?

But where is the story? Hearing for the first time notes of exhaustion and discouragement in Clinton's voice, I wondered what it had been like for her, month after month, state after state, pumping out the same policies, the same optimism, while she was running on empty. Hotel after hotel, early morning show after late-night show, schools, union meetings, church events, potluck dinners, being introduced by the local clone of the Chairman of Today's Event. For Obama, it was the same, with the difference that for most of the time he seemed to be winning, which must have been a consolation.

The problem with a screenplay based on these events is that there would be a merciless sameness. Where is the drama in the story of a game of 48 innings? Each mini-climax, from "Hillary's tears" to the Rev. Wright's display at the National Press Club, was hopefully examined to see if it might "change the direction of the campaign," and it never did, it only prolonged the suffering of that day's CNN "panel." When Wolf Blitzer got out of bed in the morning, were his hand and arm already extended, so that the clipboard had only to be inserted by an aide?

The ideal primary movie was Warren Beatty's "Bulworth" (1998) [Netflix]. There were other good films too, like Mike Nichols' "Primary Colors," (1998) [Netflix] based on a roman a clef about Hillary and Bill. Barry Levinson's "Wag the Dog" (1987) [Netflix], involved Clintonesque moments, had a screenplay by David Mamet, gave a phrase to the language, and was the best of the lot. But "Bulworth" was the ideal, because it had a cut-off point made of drama, not election days. Beatty plays a candidate sick onto death of uttering the same cliches. He takes out a contract on his own life, assuring that he will be assassinated in three days. That gives him the freedom to say exactly what's on his mind--what he, and any sensible person, might be thinking while pretending to believe their own platitudes.

That gave you suspense, comedy, some poignant private moments, and even a possible romance (with the newcomer Halle Berry). It was about transgression, not repetition. But the primary campaign that's now concluding has been a Groundhog loop, with no cut-off except for a victory, at which point the contest itself becomes yesterday's news.

[From Roger Ebert's Journal: Hillary and Bill: The movie]

I remember liking Bob Roberts too [Netflix], a campaign told from the other side of the aisle, but it has been numerous years since I've seen it (or any of these films, actually)

1 Comment

Your snippet is excellent, the best commentary on our Iron Lady and centrist Man. Love it.

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This page contains a single entry by Seth A. published on May 8, 2008 1:26 PM.

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