For those who were not able to see "Game Change", here are my thoughts about the movie.
I finally saw it last night. With just a couple of caveats, the movie was well done. The cast, the acting, & a scriptwriter's ability to capsulize such a long, gaffe-rich campaign into two hours were all top-notch.
The disappointments were minor. John McCain wasn't as angelic as he was portrayed in the movie. It should be no surprise that Steve Schmidt conveyed only the good side of McCain to the authors -- he likes him. But we all remember too well that McCain didn't seem to shy away from any opportunity to show how snarky he could be, & particularly how relentless McCain was in trying to set a nasty tone whenever he debated Obama, yet Obama chose to respond to McCain's snark with adult-caliber counterpoints.
I felt like something was missing in the script in regard to McCain's obvious uneasiness over Obama's popularity. The script included several instances of McCain's concern about it, but I would have been interested in hearing their behind-the-scenes analysis of why Obama drew such massive, enthusiastic crowds. Several scenes showed that they kept a watchful eye on Obama's appearances, but nothing was said except for McCain's notable comment, "If he heals a sick baby, we're really in trouble."
And since the movie mentioned the need for distancing McCain from Bush, I guess I was hoping for a what-in-the-hell-was-I-thinking moment in regard to the weird, overly-friendly way McCain accompanied Bush during the 2004 campaign, with all the hugs & Bush's creepy need to pull McCain in close to him in front of the cameras & audiences. I've always thought there was a story behind that.
But this wasn't a tell-all about McCain's character, but about the motivation that led to their decision to select Palin & the consequences that followed.
How this movie was able to get in so many of Palin's flaws in two hours is commendable. My husband, who doesn't follow politics & found "Fair Game" too intense & hard to follow, found it easy to grasp this movie. He needed an explanation for only the Troopergate scandal. And he really enjoyed this movie.
Despite what all we've seen about Palin in the news, her behavior behind the scenes was still enlightening. I knew she had something missing, but I'd be interested in hearing a psychologist's point of view. My husband said several times that it's an outrage that she would be so close to being in a position to push that red button in the WH. She was an emotional wreck. There are too many strong women in politics that would have been more suitable as the next in command.
And using YouTube to come up with a female candidate was unbelievable. But that's the method that was used.
One point made in the movie that put Palin in a sympathetic light is that the $100,000+ wardrobe was not her choice; the makeover was the idea of the campaign staffers. She clearly enjoyed the fitting sessions, but when the backlash at the price became an issue, she claimed she didn't want them in the first place, that she preferred buying her clothes at consignment shops.
I hope you will get to see the movie soon. It was well worth the watch. I'm going to watch it again because there's a lot of info to absorb.
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