Recount
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 07:30amLast night we watched Recount on HBO. It was good, but boy, did it get me riled up again. You’d think eight years passing might have lessened the sting, but it hasn’t. It’s only made it worse. Ugh. Cool trivia fact, though - the guy that wrote the screenplay is Doyle from Gilmore Girls (and Jonathan from Buffy). Anyway, apparently a lot of other people watched the movie, as evidenced by this nice little edit to Katherine Harris’ wikipedia page.
Sandyjoys on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 7:47 am
I had to skip this because I’m pregnant and can’t drink and I just KNOW I would need a cocktail before it was over…
freakgirl on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 8:12 am
Ask the geekboy - I kept lifting up my head and SNORTING like an angry horse.
krup on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 9:35 am
i tried watching but stopped after 5 minutes. waaaaaaay too painful. sounds like i should hold my nose and try again…
anna kathryn on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 10:25 am
I was 15 when this election happened and didn’t pay attention to politics at that age. I hoped George W. Bush would win cause that’s who my parents voted for. At the time, I was glad the Supreme Court reversed the reversal (or however you would put it) and that Bush won. But to watch this now with a totally different perspective on the events of that election and on politics, is really really interesting for me. And also quite maddening. Almost as maddening as the Celtics playoff inconsistency ..but I digress.
Jason on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 12:43 pm
I cannot bring myself to watch this movie. I’m angry all over again just knowing that there is a movie about this. That said, Dennis Leary is the perfect choice for playing Michael Whooley, though the real Whooley looks more like John Malkovich.
GeekBoy on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Dennis Leary’s Boston accent throughout was one of the highlights of the movie.
Susie on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’m scared to watch this movie. Just thinking about that so-called election makes me so hostile. I’m sure I’ll bite the bullet, though. I’m too curious.
freakgirl on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 1:03 pm
It was depressing, but very well-acted. Kevin Spacey was great, and Laura Dern was magnificent as Katherine Harris. I read an interview with Danny Strong and he believes that he told the story in a pretty fair manner (the Republicans he reached out to agreed with him). Katherine Harris, however, refused to speak with him, and I like to think that’s the reason she is portrayed as such a pathetic, fame-hungry, power-mad loser.
Shannon on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Matt and I wondered why the movie was coming out now, as opposed to before the 2004 election. It felt more like a made for TV disaster movie than anything else. I liked it, because I LIVE for made for TV disaster movies…Matt was not impressed.
freakgirl on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Well, Danny didn’t write it until 2005 — I guess up until then, nobody had figured out how to make a compelling film about it. It does serve as a warning for the next election, though.
Susie on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 7:59 pm
I just asked Al if he’s planning on watching this. He said he’s going to tape it, but probably won’t be able to bring himself to watch it. He said it was hard enough to live through it when it happened and if he watches it he’ll get all mad again and he’ll just take it out on me, so it’s in my best interest if he just forgets the whole damn thing.
freakgirl on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Indeed.
Janet on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 1:14 pm
What y’all said about not wanting to get worked up, and thus not watching it. The promos made me mad.
Re: why not earlier - the Repubs got that Reagan biopic bounced from CBS to Showtime before the 2004 election, and probably would have gone crazy if the movie was perceived to challenge Bush’s reelection chances. I doubt a sane programmer would have aired it any earlier.