Recount (2008)

A dramatization of George W Bush's winning of the 2000 US Election. In particular, an examination of the Florida recount, the recount that decided the election.Great docu-drama on a highly controversial moment in US history. A good examination of the events and machinations involved in the 2000 election, and the Florida recount in particular. No matter which side of politics you're on, it makes for very interesting viewing.

The 2000 US presidential election shocked the world. For years, the presidential elections had gone by without a hitch, but suddenly a bunch of irregularities showed up in Florida. Jay Roach's "Recount" focuses on this story. What the movie makes clear is that the US election system is actually one of the most backwards and dysfunctional. On top of that, Florida had denied thousands of the right to vote due to their names being similar to those of felons. In the end, Al Gore conceded despite having apparently won the popular vote. Michael Moore called it A Very American Coup.The movie does a good job telling the story. The main focus is on Ron Klain (Kevin Spacey, a previously renowned actor now pretty much ruined due to the recent revelations of his misdeeds) and Michael Whouley (Denis Leary), both of whom try to not only figure out what happened, but convince Florida's supreme court and then the US Supreme Court to allow the recount to continue. Although the viewer knows the ending, it's still riveting to see the inner workings of the campaign, but also the shenanigans that got pulled. Those hanging chads really screwed everyone over. And boy, was Katharine Harris a creep! Laura Dern's performance as her makes her look wacky but also makes clear that she had a vile side.Part of what I thought about while watching the movie is how different things would be today had Gore become president. It's commonly understood that he would've kept us out of Iraq, but I suspect that he would've prevented the 9/11 attacks by paying attention to the presidential daily briefing announcing Osama bin Laden's plans to attack the US (meaning that we wouldn't have had every mess that resulted from that).Anyway, it's a movie that I recommend. Jay Roach, originally known for the Austin Powers movies and the "Meet the Parents" movies, has proved to be quite adept with these politically-themed movies. He also gave us "Game Change" (about John McCain's hiring of Sarah Palin as his running mate), "The Campaign" (about an over-the-top senate campaign), "Trumbo" (about Dalton Trumbo) and "All the Way" (about Lyndon Johnson's efforts to pass the Civil Rights Act). The rest of the cast includes John Hurt (V for Vendetta), Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty), Ed Begley Jr, Bob Balaban, Bruce McGill (Animal House) and Mitch Pileggi (The X Files).

Base on a true story of the 2000 president election Florida recount between Vice President Al Gore and The then Governor of Texas George W. Bush, at first we all think Gore wins Florida thus making him the 43rd President! but wait, now the state goes to Bush! And now both sides are at war over who actually won Florida? did Bush really won the state or was Gore the winner of Florida in the first place. Kevin Spacey plays ( Ron Klain ) Denis Leary plays ( Michael Whouley ) who uses more cuss words then any other actor in the movie.Laura Dern who plays the Secretary of State Katherine Harris won a Golden Globe award for her performance, and I think she deserved it To! Directed by Jay Roach of Austin Powers, Meet The Parents, Mystery Alaska, I thought he did a wonderful job of this HBO TV movie, this was also the time of Bush's last year in office and Obama's road to the white house.I give it ten stars because it is a great film!

The incredible mess of an election in year 2000, forever altered the worlds perception of the USA. The ridiculous fact that you can lose the election with the majority of the votes would be enough, but when the courts decide the winner, it is hard to sustain the self-deluding image of the last great Western democracy. Even if we make allowances for the artistic liberty, this smart political movie clearly shows the dire predicament in which we found ourselves. The extreme closeness of this race forced us to face the inadequacies in our system. Sadly, 10 years later almost nothing changed. The ship is sinking, and the rats will soon be leaving.