Conventioneers

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Audience Member This could have been a pretty good movie. The idea is novel and contemporary: a modern day Romeo and Juliet where the conflict is not the last name but a political party affiliation. Well, so much for that. It's billed as just that but that's about 1/4 of what the movie is...a half documentary of the protests surrounding the RNC in NYC in 2004. I thought the love story would be way better. Instead, both man and woman are already in committed relationships. It could have been great to have to young idealists fall in love. Their friends and families try to sway their decision based on politics. The movie is right in one regard: the Republican leaves his sanctuary in Texas and his mind is changed some when he sees NYC. What better theme than that: your little world is not always the greater world at large. More often, it is not. So leave the bigger world alone. They probably get along fine without you. In this movie, the love story is convoluted by the other relationships. And the slant of the direction, which seems to be pretty liberal (given some of the unsavory characteristics of the Republican dude). So along the lines of story, I thought it was okay but didn't fit the bill and definitely could have been better. A more important question is why the fuck were all the camera men arrested? In the credits, it mentions that pretty much every camera man was arrested while filming protestors at Ground Zero. Uh, lame? This is the equivalent of people being denied rights at Yankees games for not following certain behaviors while they sing God Bless America. Pretty ridiculous. Finally, would I ever date a Republican? She'd have be be something else. Typically, I am quite attracted to liberal chicks. I find it sexy as hell. And I just don't find Republicans to be all that intellectual. James Carville is an alien...that's why he had to settle for Mary Mattelin...whom I cannot stand and is someone who strikes me as very stoopid. I never rule out anything...that's part of being my brand of liberal, but on the surface, the odds are against me liking a Republican. At the same time, I don't think we'd have to go to protests and whatnot. An occasional debate over dinner maybe, but I don't like that the characters in this movie often came unhinged. That's not my brand of liberalism either. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review walter m In "Conventioneers," David Massey(Matthew Mabe) is visiting New York City for the first time for a convention. It is 2004 and he is a delegate to the Republican National Convention. While in town, he looks up Lea(Woodwyn Koons), an old friend from Dartmouth. Despite her being busy with the protests, much to the consternation of her Vietnam veteran father(Robert O'Gorman) who wishes she would finally finish her architecture degree, she meets David for lunch but does not finish due to philosophical differences. Later, she goes to his hotel to apologize and they go to his room to raid his snack bar. "Conventioneers" is a fine example of guerilla filmmaking, shot on the streets during the protests. It is not "Medium Cool" but then what is? Actually, "Conventioneers" shows me very clearly what I missed. For the record, I did not see much point in attending the protests at the time because I thought they would be kept out of mind and sight(The Democrats are just as guilty in trying to control the message) and I was afraid I would be risking arrest just by participating.(So, I read Michael Moore's dispatches in USA Today from the safe distance of Denver.) In retrospect, the film gave good reasons why my fears were not that ungrounded, as the end credits testify to crew members being detained during various events. That reinforces the film's major theme of being at a crossroads for not only the country but also the various characters, especially Lea's friend Dylan(Alek Friedman) who is now married and a father and now must be concerned with the consequences of his actions. This is in an America divided, not united, by George W. Bush. Of course, there are people who do not need an excuse, like politics, to argue. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved this. Saw it for free on Hulu. It is so good. I want to know how they made it. Very well done. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I first heard about this when it received the John Cassavetes Award. From the outside, this looked promising - a Romeo and Juliet kind of story set in the post-9/11 days leading up to the RNC. With strong writing and an indie rough-around-the-edges take on a romance set in a political hot zone, I really thought this might be a diamond. But oh was I wrong... At times it was a wannabe Michael Moore documentary, replete with actual RNC coverage video and closing remarks on how long crew members were wrongfully detained. Then on the other hand, it took a fundamental misstep with the Romeo-Juliet concept. Romeo and Juliet didn't cheat on their respective wife/fiance for unrequited sex! Massey and Lea were just bad people giving into lust and desire over a politcal boundary. In the end the political boundary stood in tact over the crushed pillars of marriage. Perhaps the John Cassavetes Award was bestowed solely on the challenges of shooting a film on a budget admist the RNC protests. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Great indy on people, politics and idealogies. a 21st version of Medium cool. Go see this! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Basically a directive on why not to date Republicans. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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