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This was the made-for-TV Bushco propaganda movie put out by the Republicans, to make George W. seem such a saintly and noble leader. I tried to judge it on artistic merit, but with the director and the producer blathering on about how they've made a masterpiece that will stand as an historical document, the whole thing began to look like a bunch of self-serving hooey. Especially when they were going on about the "authenticity" of scenes that clearly contradicted accounts (even those of primary witnesses). It turned into high comedy, such as when they gradually admit that they filmed the thing in Canada (how patriotic!), presumably to save money.
And it wasn't even effective propaganda (the whole reason I bought it in the first place, for my research collection of such films). At least "Birth of a Nation" and "Triumph of the Will" had some inspiring cinematography. If they'd portrayed Bush as a callow or hesitant leader who really did mature (something I just don't believe, but for the sake of drama I would suspend my disbelief) -- there could have been some sympathy for the character, but they didn't even do a good job of spinning a compelling yarn. And the lines they gave the cast were so preposterous, the poor actors were basically stranded.
I think that Timothy Bottoms has done some terrific work (e.g. "Johnny Got His Gun" and "The Paper Chase") but I really did feel sorry for him here. They had him doing the DVD commentary as well, and I think he was rather uncomfortable with their endless self-congratulation, and was looking around for possible escape routes. At one point he blurted out that they were stranded in Toronto during the SARS outbreak, and he was so worried about one of his kids being hospitalized (for an unrelated illness) back home that the stress made him break out in hives! And then, on top of it all, he wasn't even allowed to finish the climactic speech to Congress -- they suddenly dropped in a clip of the real George W. Bush, who promptly ruined Bottoms's efforts to establish rapport with the audience by smirking inappropriately.
Only a few minutes into the film, I was jotting down notes about how I thought they could have made the Bush character more charismatic and appealling -- that's how horrible it was, if I could have done a better job in that department. I'll get the thing out of the way this weekend (the sacrifices I make for my research!) but not on a full stomach. I'm hoping they will come up with a creative explanation of how -- when they're so fixated on "accurate historical representation" -- they can rationalize contradicting Bush's own account of what happened at his WTC bullhorn visit, without making George W. look like a shameless liar. That, I think, would be the most entertaining and informative part of the show.
So -- quick, tell me something nice that happened to you this week, just so I can get this monstrosity out of my head!
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