Kevin Costner is coming with the politically timely "Swing Vote," about an apathetic loser who finds himself the lone voter who will decide whether the Republican or Democratic presidential candidate wins the election. Expect a twist ending since failure to throw it to the Democrat (even as played by Dennis Hopper -- can't clean that boy up) is sure to be a killer with the critics.
One can't help but wonder how a widescreen film about battle action in Iraq with clean-cut American men and women beating back the bad guys -- and no politics on display -- would fare. Big screen thrills, sincere emotions, GIs playing with happy local kids, good guys winning although they lose a few comrades along the way, even an Al Qaeda operative or two as the real heavies. Imagine a film that makes you proud to be an American and proud of what this country stands for.
My guess is it would be a box office bonanza if made by some talented action director like Ridley Scott ("Black Hawk Down" is a good prototype) or the director of the last James Bond film, "Casino Royale."
Of course, no self-respecting Hollywood director who wants to keep his career is going to touch that film -- without at least a hint of Bush-bashing and a heavy dose of moral ambivalence -- and you know the critics will hate it.
But can you imagine the impact a blockbuster movie like that might have on the American psyche, giving us all a sense of the tough job our fine military is doing, slowly, steadily winning a war that many said was unwinnable? You know what I'm talking about, the kind of movie Hollywood made during World War II.
1 comment:
You would think one Hollywood maverick would take on a project like this. To play it safe the director could focus on a specific battle and keep it perfectly apolitical.
The new "Iron Man" shows that political material can be handled without dumbing things down or offending either ideological side too greatly.
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