By Antonio D. French
Filed Monday, October 30, 2006 at 8:03 AM
A review in yesterday's Boston Globe:
Sometimes elections come down to which flavor of hubris leaves less of a bad taste in your mouth: the hubris of political dynasty, where a candidate waltzes in with the pedigree of a last name; or the hubris of ego, where a candidate says hey, I'm trying really hard, that's enough for your money and your vote, right?
The title of Frank Popper's new documentary "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?" is a play on the 1939 Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." The new movie follows a young buck named Jeff Smith who, in 2004, ran for the House of Representatives to replace the outgoing Richard Gephardt. Smith was 29 at the time, and the film shows him barreling into his campaign despite the skepticism he faces even from his own mother, who thought the whole idea "just seemed like an off-the-wall notion."
Smith seems to be a decent guy -- he cofounded the Confluence Academy, a St. Louis charter school that serves primarily minority students -- even if he never is fazed by his complete lack of previous public service.
He looks and sounds like Al Franken doing his Stuart Smalley bit, and one of his own campaign staffers concedes that Smith is "short, looks like he's 12, and sounds like he's castrated." That makes it all the more entertaining to see Smith go from zero name recognition to serious contender in a primary field that includes Russ Carnahan, the Missouri equivalent of a Kennedy...
Sometimes elections come down to which flavor of hubris leaves less of a bad taste in your mouth: the hubris of political dynasty, where a candidate waltzes in with the pedigree of a last name; or the hubris of ego, where a candidate says hey, I'm trying really hard, that's enough for your money and your vote, right?
The title of Frank Popper's new documentary "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?" is a play on the 1939 Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." The new movie follows a young buck named Jeff Smith who, in 2004, ran for the House of Representatives to replace the outgoing Richard Gephardt. Smith was 29 at the time, and the film shows him barreling into his campaign despite the skepticism he faces even from his own mother, who thought the whole idea "just seemed like an off-the-wall notion."Smith seems to be a decent guy -- he cofounded the Confluence Academy, a St. Louis charter school that serves primarily minority students -- even if he never is fazed by his complete lack of previous public service.
He looks and sounds like Al Franken doing his Stuart Smalley bit, and one of his own campaign staffers concedes that Smith is "short, looks like he's 12, and sounds like he's castrated." That makes it all the more entertaining to see Smith go from zero name recognition to serious contender in a primary field that includes Russ Carnahan, the Missouri equivalent of a Kennedy...
Labels: Reviews
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home