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RANDY BANDIT’S TAKE: PASSING
I am always blown away by the similarities between movies and real life. I remember the eerie parallels between Wag the Dog and the latter half of Clinton’s second term after Monica Lewinsky. This movie, while not as spot on, reminds me a hell of a lot of Obama’s rise to power.
I am always blown away by the similarities between movies and real life. I remember the eerie parallels between Wag the Dog and the latter half of Clinton’s second term after Monica Lewinsky. This movie, while not as spot on, reminds me a hell of a lot of Obama’s rise to power.
First, you had the unlikely, and very thin, black candidate, who found comfort in speaking to large crowds. He placed a premium on being truthful to the people and developed a three word catch phrase that resonated with the crowds: “That Ain’t Right!” (Not quite “Yes, We Can!”)
Then, there were the attempts by his adversaries to try to tie him to seemingly unsavory characters (read: Patrice O’Neil’s role as a drug dealer). It was also implied that Mays had a strong understanding of the history of the government and a respect for the Democratic party itself. In fact, the biggest departure from the movie and real life is that it was Mays, and not Obama, who picked the unlikely, unqualified running mate, although he had his reasons (and the movie was all the better for it).
Ultimately, this movie was a lot of fun, and even though I knew Mays would win, I still got excited when the announcement was made. It didn’t come close to the excitement of Obama winning, but at least the story played out the way that it was supposed to. Although it might be dated now, Head of State is still fun to watch, if only to see how much things have changed since it was released.
PHILL BOOGIE’S TAKE: PASSING
Chris Rock is a genius. His stand-up work is some of the smartest and funniest ever performed. Admittedly, the stand-up brilliance doesn’t always translate in film, but I think “Head of State” comes pretty close.
The idea of hip-hop being used in party with a presidential election was comical in the film, but on some level, there seems to be a statement that this is the voice of a huge portion of America. Fast forward to Obama’s campaign, hip-hop was a major factor in his campaign, and it wasn’t a joke at all.
The best thing about “Head of State” may be its timing. The idea of a black president was enough to hang a comical movie premise on a few years back. Now, that premise can no longer be a punchline.
Oh…this is totally random: I love Robin Givens. She was great in this movie.
PHILL BOOGIE’S TAKE: PASSING
Chris Rock is a genius. His stand-up work is some of the smartest and funniest ever performed. Admittedly, the stand-up brilliance doesn’t always translate in film, but I think “Head of State” comes pretty close.
The idea of hip-hop being used in party with a presidential election was comical in the film, but on some level, there seems to be a statement that this is the voice of a huge portion of America. Fast forward to Obama’s campaign, hip-hop was a major factor in his campaign, and it wasn’t a joke at all.
The best thing about “Head of State” may be its timing. The idea of a black president was enough to hang a comical movie premise on a few years back. Now, that premise can no longer be a punchline.
Oh…this is totally random: I love Robin Givens. She was great in this movie.
1 comment:
The first time I saw “Head of State” I didn’t expect the movie to be as good as it was. I was looking for the usual Chris Rock comedy and not much more. It started out the way I imagined when Chris Rock’s girl was mad at him. Seems like he always has girl problems (like in “down to earth”). Anyway as, the movie developed, it became more and more of a somewhat inspiring story. At the beginning, he is asking “President of the United States of what?” but there was a turning point. When he is giving a speech at a city hall somewhere and he turns off the speech promter ans speaks from his heart about what he thinks the people need. That was a turning point in the movie. I actually got chills by the end of this part. He actually becomes a valid candidate with a chance to win. From the previews I saw, I honestly didn’t know if he would win or not but by the end of the movie the suspense was killing me. I wanted him to win so bad (along with getting a girl). When he won it was a great thing. The only thing that scares me looking back on it was when his double got shot during the party. It was hilarious to me when I watched it a few years ago but now its not such a funny joke. The celebration of his winning was nothing compared to what the Obamas did. The thing about that movie was that it seemed like a fairy tale. Actually having a black man be elected president was such a farfetched idea at the time that it added to the humor of the story. “Yeah he won at the end but still, its not gonna happen” was my reaction. To my surprise it did happen. Essentially this movie was just a funny movie but it did make me think. What if? Could it really happen? The answer is clear today.
Nickntm
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