On this Election Day 2012 check out a few of my favorite politcally themed movies:
Wag the Dog (1997) - The president's "spin doctors" led by Robert DeNiro create a fake war with the help of Hollywood director Dustin Hoffman, to divert the public's attention away from a sex scandel during election. My Take: Great acting, great directing and enough material to make a person wonder what exactly is the truth we see on TV or read about...
Primary Colors (1998) - John Travolta portrays a man running for president (with many similarities to prior man who held the office, in reality) while his staff works to garner support as well as cover up past indiscretions. The story is somewhat told through the eyes of a naive young man, who quickly learns how deep loyalty lies, and how far people will go to support this candidate. My take: The movie was clearly "based" on Bill Clinton, and the scary (good) part is that I do not know if we as the audience should have accepted or hated how the actions played out. It makes you think.
Dave (1993) - This is a fun, light-hearted comedy: Kevin Kline is a temp agency owner who physically resembles the sitting president. The president has stroke so the preisdent's staff brings in Kline to act as "puppet" while they keep the country running the way they want. Kline, being an admirable person and genuinely concerned about the country has other plans. My take: The comic moments make this worth seeing, and the supporting actors including Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, and Ving Rhames are great.
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