MOVIEW REVIEW: Hackman, Romano shine in ‘Mooseport’
Grade: B
This week we see another entry into what I have dubbed the “innocent political comedy” genre: “Welcome to Mooseport.” In the innocent political comedy, a well-reputed actor plays the president of the United States as he faces a serious-yet-comic dilemma. One of the best examples of the genre is “Dave,” where Kevin Kline (the immortal “Otto” in “A Fish Called Wanda”) plays a presidential look-alike who winds up taking over for the real president when he has a heart attack. Good clean fun.
Over the years, the innocent political comedy has picked up a few more members, like “My Fellow Americans,” “The American President,” “Rocky IV” and “Independence Day.” Finally Gene Hackman joins Kline, Michael Douglas, Bill Pullman and others in this exclusive club.
I have already addressed the fact that Hackman is on my short list of “greatest actors ever,” along with, currently, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. In “Welcome to Mooseport,” Hackman doesn’t do anything to tarnish his position.
Hackman has just finished his second term in the White House, earning record setting 85 percent approval ratings, and due to the finality of his divorce from the first lady, has retreated to his summer home in Mooseport, Maine. Here, he is asked to take over for the recently deceased mayor.
What initially looks like a good PR move becomes complicated when Hackman finds that the town plumber (Ray Romano, “Everybody Loves Raymond” guy) also applied to run for the position, so the two will actually have to campaign in a real election. Naturally, Hackman also proceeds to ask out Romano’s disgruntled girlfriend (Maura Tierney), and suddenly the candidates are competing both for political office and for the hand of the fair lady.
The unfolding plot makes for a nice story, but the true highlight of the film is seeing Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold in “The Wonder Years”) in action as the president’s right-hand man. This guy looks about a year older than when he was in the seventh grade, kind of a George Stephanopolous* for the 21st century. I half expected to hear Joe Cocker bust in with “What would you doooo if I sang out a tu-une…” It would have been a nice touch.
This of course brings up a more important issue: Why isn’t “The Wonder Years” out on DVD yet? Every crappy TV show from the last 20 years is out now except “The Wonder Years” and “Seinfeld.” What’s the deal, people? Did the marketing report really think that getting the first season of “Kung Fu” out was a priority?
Well, Kenny Rogers is playing on my computer, and that tells me it’s time to wrap up the review. “Welcome to Mooseport” is a fun flick that most will probably best appreciate at the discount theater. It’s surprisingly clean, too, aside from the now-standard “old guy streaker” gag that pops up a time or two. So go spend some time with Gene, Ray, and Fred in a little town in Maine, and remember that even in a bitter election season, there’s more to politics than backstabbing, lies and mudslinging. There’s love, friendship and copper tubing.
*Obscure Pop Culture Reference: George Stephanopolous was President Clinton’s senior adviser on policy and strategy. He looked like he was about 15 years old. Now he works for ABC, and looks like he’s about 17.
Joshua Alan Terry is a graduate student in American studies. Contact him via e-mail at jterry@english.usu.edu, or visit his Web site at www.planetvenison.com.