Game Change (2012)

Game Change is the 2012 HBO film about the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign against Barack Obama and Joe Biden in 2008. First of all, this movie is very well acted by all in it, including the stars: Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris, and Sarah Pulson. I absolutely loved Julianne Moore's representation of Sarah Palin, if you would've seen her coming, you would've thought it was Sarah herself, the hair and makeup crew did a fantastic job with that. In many scenes tensions run high and there is a lot of fighting, and the actors really come out and shine in those scenes, which was very cool to see. The chemistry between all the characters really clicked as well. The dialogue in the film is also very good and well put together. A lot of people claimed this film was just a bunch of liberals painting conservatives in a bad light, although that's not what they did at all. They simply took the facts that were in the book Game Change and visualized them through film. This movie was very well acted and written, Game Change will also make you very thankful for the outcome of the 2008 presidential election haha. 7/10 for Game Change.

This movie delves into not only the events that took place during the election of 2012, but in short depicts the hardships involved in the process that goes into running for such political seats as Vice President, or any seat therein. It take you further into the process than ever before. From this you get to see the strains and pains of political figures, and to problems they must face. I am in no way a republican, nor a democrat, but after watching this i have a little more respect for Sara Palin. If you want a movie that helps you understand the politicians plight in campaigning, this one is hands down the best. I wouldn't say it was well acted, but the acting was decent enough, but when you get down to it, the insight of the political process is well made!

The irony of GAME CHANGE is that it reveals more about liberal hypocrisy and the flaws of the feminist elite than it does about the rise and fall of Sarah Palin. What comes across most clearly is not that Sarah Palin was unqualified but that the college-educated women on her own team resented her for class reasons that had nothing to do with political ability. Late in the picture, when Sarah is being criticized, she says something to the effect of, "well, Hillary Clinton does the same thing and no one objects." And then her own female staffer says, "yes, and you're SO MUCH like Hillary." And we're meant to see that as a brilliant put down? Why? Because Sarah Palin's parents weren't rich enough to send her to Wellesley College? Or because she overcame economic and class-based obstacles Hillary never had to face?The real message of the film is not that Republican policies are wrong but that working class people have no business aspiring to high political office -- or even taking an active interest in politics. If this is really what liberals think then they really are corrupt and dishonest beyond Sarah Palin's wildest dreams. But I give GAME CHANGE seven stars because Julianne Moore, Edd Harris, and Woody Harrelson all give superb performances. The real tragedy is that the story didn't focus on John McCain. The writers plainly see him as a Shakespearean tragic hero, a noble man undone by the mob, like Brutus or Coriolanus. In this telling, McCain is a principled aristocrat who only discovers midway through the campaign that his own followers are nothing but racist subhuman scum -- and then he proves his tragic stature by deliberately losing the election on principle. Whether you believe that scenario or not, the fact is that McCain emerges as a much more compelling and sympathetic figure than Sarah Palin. Presumably an Annapolis graduate meets the liberal definition of a "well-born" American eligible for high office. This movie was fascinating and disgusting at the same time. The people who made it are just as bigoted and ignorant as any of the people they attack. Only they don't know it.

Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore) is portrayed as a complete idiot who's great at playing fast and loose with facts. It's very much a two dimensional portrait. Everybody else gets a pass. All the advisers are dumbfounded by her idiocy. John McCain (Ed Harris) is an honorable man who was forced by a losing campaign to dabble in the dark side. All of it would ring true to the political left, and a gotcha journalism to the right. Although the book seems to be deeply well-researched.As for the acting, Julianne Moore does a good job mimicking. Ed Harris seems to bring a more substantial presence to John McCain. It also stars Woody Harrelson and Sarah Paulson. I do wish for a more 3 dimensional Sarah Palin character. It does look like a movie made by people who talk to and about Sarah Palin rather than anything insightful from Sarah Palin herself.