Every time I watch this movie, I laugh harder. I'm not big into politics for the same reasons that I'm not into pageants. Everyone's lying about who they are, what they stand for, and what they plan to do. A movie like this really only reinforces the possibility that it's all just a big game played on us. I showed it to Rob, who had never seen it before. He liked it but felt it was extremely cynical. Duh. It's like he's never met me.
The President is in trouble. He is up for re-election in two weeks and a local Firefly Girl is alleging that she was touched inappropriately in the Oval Office. He calls in Conrad Breen (Robert DeNiro), his fixer, to help him. Conrad and the President's aide, Winifred (Anne Heche), go to Hollywood to see famous producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman). See, Conrad has an idea that will divert attention away from a sex scandal: fabricate a war with Albania.
Everything that follows is amazing. Images are crafted to appeal directly to the heartstrings of the public. Songs are written. Promotional tie-ins are made. It's all extremely fake but extremely plausible. Not even people who actually know there isn't a war (specifically CIA director Charles Young (William H. Macy)) can stop this juggernaut. They suffer a minor set-back when the opposing Senator Neal (Craig T. Nelson) ends the war before they're ready, but they brilliantly counter with the moving story of SGT William Schumann (Woody Harrelson), a soldier lost behind enemy lines.
The entire movie is one jab after another at the political machine, the complacency of voters, the increasing role television has in our social consciousness, and the self-centered apathy of the Hollywood elite. It's phenomenal and I highly encourage everyone to see it.
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