The Candidate (1972)
Grade: 8/10
Last Saturday evening was not unlike most Saturday evenings. There I was, sitting in my cat-mangled arm chair, surfing 72 channels of drivel in search of for something to watch during the ad breaks of the ALDS (not that baseball matters these days to a Cubs fan).
Having gone through my cable roation roughly eight times, I was at the point of seeing how fast I could get through all the channels (I like to race myself) when I was drawn to a blond-haired blur on channel 19. In passing, it looked like a young Robert Redford, so I went back to see if I was, in fact, correct. (I was already on channel 45 by the time I figured it was worth going back -- fastest thumb in mid-MO!)
There on channel 19 was, indeed, Robert Redford in all his early '70s "I-know-I'm-good-looking-and-so-should-you" glory. In my estimation, Redford is one of the few "eye candy" actors who could actually deliver, which is what makes "Spy Game" such an amusing film. If the baton was supposed to be passed there, Brad seriously gaffed it.
The movie turned out to be "The Candidate," one of the few Redford films I hadn't seen. So I watched it. And it was good.
Why was it good? Well, for a few reasons, most of all its relative timliness to our current situation. I'm not going to do plot summary here -- go to IMDB for that. What I will say is that the film has one of the best closing lines I've ever heard in film. After having dethroned the incumbant, a glassy-eyed Bill McKay (Robert Redford) sits on his hotel room bed, a throng of people waiting to break through his door and congratulate him. With a scary earnestness, he looks up at his campaign mananger and asks "What now?"
What now? This is a question I can guarantee at least two men will be asking themselves on the night of November 3rd. And it's a question we should all be thinking. It's a line that summed up so much in 1972 (young dreamer overcomes seasoned old politician and/or new beginning versus Vietnam era mistakes) and that still has impact today.
I think it is absolutely time for change. I disagree with the idea that Bush should be allowed to continue as president just so we don't look weak. Too many things have been mishandled, too many balls dropped. That being said, if Kerry wins the presidency, there's a lot to clean up, and people are short on patience these days (with good reason). What it comes down to is this: Is the chance that things could get better worth the risk on a new candidate? I think so. Besides, if we don't like him, we can always vote him out, too!
Now, I would like to steal an idea from Nick Hornby and give you my rank order of the top 5 songs that deal with the political process and/or patriotism:
1) "This Land is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie)
2) "We've Been Had" (Uncle Tupelo)
3) "Christ for President" (Billy Bragg and Wilco)
4) "Rockin' In the Free World" (Neil Young)
5) "Christmas Time in Washington" (Steve Earle)
Last Saturday evening was not unlike most Saturday evenings. There I was, sitting in my cat-mangled arm chair, surfing 72 channels of drivel in search of for something to watch during the ad breaks of the ALDS (not that baseball matters these days to a Cubs fan).
Having gone through my cable roation roughly eight times, I was at the point of seeing how fast I could get through all the channels (I like to race myself) when I was drawn to a blond-haired blur on channel 19. In passing, it looked like a young Robert Redford, so I went back to see if I was, in fact, correct. (I was already on channel 45 by the time I figured it was worth going back -- fastest thumb in mid-MO!)
There on channel 19 was, indeed, Robert Redford in all his early '70s "I-know-I'm-good-looking-and-so-should-you" glory. In my estimation, Redford is one of the few "eye candy" actors who could actually deliver, which is what makes "Spy Game" such an amusing film. If the baton was supposed to be passed there, Brad seriously gaffed it.
The movie turned out to be "The Candidate," one of the few Redford films I hadn't seen. So I watched it. And it was good.
Why was it good? Well, for a few reasons, most of all its relative timliness to our current situation. I'm not going to do plot summary here -- go to IMDB for that. What I will say is that the film has one of the best closing lines I've ever heard in film. After having dethroned the incumbant, a glassy-eyed Bill McKay (Robert Redford) sits on his hotel room bed, a throng of people waiting to break through his door and congratulate him. With a scary earnestness, he looks up at his campaign mananger and asks "What now?"
What now? This is a question I can guarantee at least two men will be asking themselves on the night of November 3rd. And it's a question we should all be thinking. It's a line that summed up so much in 1972 (young dreamer overcomes seasoned old politician and/or new beginning versus Vietnam era mistakes) and that still has impact today.
I think it is absolutely time for change. I disagree with the idea that Bush should be allowed to continue as president just so we don't look weak. Too many things have been mishandled, too many balls dropped. That being said, if Kerry wins the presidency, there's a lot to clean up, and people are short on patience these days (with good reason). What it comes down to is this: Is the chance that things could get better worth the risk on a new candidate? I think so. Besides, if we don't like him, we can always vote him out, too!
Now, I would like to steal an idea from Nick Hornby and give you my rank order of the top 5 songs that deal with the political process and/or patriotism:
1) "This Land is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie)
2) "We've Been Had" (Uncle Tupelo)
3) "Christ for President" (Billy Bragg and Wilco)
4) "Rockin' In the Free World" (Neil Young)
5) "Christmas Time in Washington" (Steve Earle)
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home