(Credit: HBO)
It was truly a great time to be an American—until November of 2000, when the Florida recount introduced the nation to something called a 'hanging chad.”
What is it? Eight years and two terms later, and those liberal folks at HBO still can't get over the fact that their candidate won the popular vote, and probably won the electoral college, but lost the election. (Get over it, guys!)
Buzzed about: Oh, Spacey. See how much trouble your ever-receding hairline has brought us? Spacey stars in "Recount" as Al Gore's Chief of Staff Ron Klain. Unfortunately, Klain was not only a good 50 pounds heavier than Spacey but also sported a full head of hair. What ever happened to your "The Life of David Gale" toupee, anyway?
The "ooh" factor: "Recount" features a who's who of big screen stars, including John Hurt, Denis Leary and a stand-out performance by Tom Wilkinson as James Baker. Directed by Jay Roach (yes, the same Jay Roach who directed "Meet The Fockers"), the production value is surprisingly high, the writing is sharp and—sorry, we were just staring at Kevin Spacey's forehead again.
The "eh" factor: Unfortunately, "Recount" is a disturbingly one-sided affair. Sure, we get plenty of scenes with Republican top brass making their case for a Bush Jr. win, but the Emperor had plenty of scenes in "Star Wars," too. And, playing the much-maligned Katherine Harris, Laura Dern's performance quickly turns into caricature, with gratuitous shots of the clownish Florida Secretary of State applying layers of lipstick and rouge. (Later attempts to humanize her come too little too late.)
The verdict: We tried to give HBO's historical melodrama a 4 star rating, but one turned out to be a pregnant chad. Tough break, "Recount."
"Recount" premieres Sunday, May 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
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