Raising Buchanan

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Raising Buchanan

2019

1h 36m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

71%

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7 Reviews

80%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Desperate for money, an aimless Arizona woman hatches a crazy scheme to kidnap the body of President James Buchanan and hold it for ransom.

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Richard Whittaker

Austin Chronicle

It's all absurd, which adds to the charm, knowing that everyone here (even the 15th president of the United States) is vaguely ridiculous, yet with some redemptive depths. We're all flawed, Dellis says, but there are worse things to be.

Rated: 3/5

May 14, 2020

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Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

There are some interesting ideas on display, but the film is underwritten; a few more passes at the script might have tightened things up.

Rated: 2.5/5

May 12, 2020

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Raising Buchanan gets a little too unfocused toward the end of the film by trading in satire for sentimentality, which lessens the intended impact of the story.

Jul 18, 2020

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Daniel M. Kimmel

North Shore Movies

A first feature for director Bruce Dellis, who also wrote the screenplay, Raising Buchanan is the sort of quirky independent comedy that one stumbles upon when looking for something different.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 11, 2020

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Nick Rocco Scalia

Film Threat

Surely, Buchanan was never going to earn the kind of cinematic lionization that so many American filmmaking greats (like Steven Spielberg and John Ford) gave to good old Abe Lincoln, but he could have done a whole lot worse than this.

Rated: 6.5/10

May 6, 2020

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Josh Bell

Crooked Marquee

Auberjonois is so good as the feckless leader, nobly defending his poor decisions, that it makes you long for a full one-man show that will never come.

Rated: B+

Apr 13, 2020

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Audience Member

I actually really liked watching this movie! It was very quirky, fun, and definitely interesting. There were a lot of funny moments that kept me laughing, which made me want to know more about the story and certain characters within the film as it progressed. I would say my favorite character was Ruth played by Amanda Melby. I also really liked the script and how the actors brought the lines within the scenes to life in the film. Overall, I thought that this was good movie to watch. I would definitely recommend it to people looking for something that will make them laugh and be happy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

A unique twist on the life and reputation of James Buchanan through the lens of an a centric character played by Amanda Melby who steals the show!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie wittily uses facts about the least-known president in a way that had me laughing the whole time! For a film with such a zany concept, I was pleasantly surprised with how subtle many of the jokes were and the laid-back pace of the story. The film never seemed slow or erratic. Although a part of me does feel that a flick with a premise as absurd as this one demands a more absurd storyline, I was satisfied with the ending and enjoyed it from start to finish. This was a damn good flick!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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DG

Absolute waste of time and money.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/05/19

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Tom K

Local talent killing it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/01/19

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movie fan

Don’t waste your time or $

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/01/19

Full Review

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Bruce Dellis

Director

Rene Auberjonois

President James Buchanan

Amanda Melby

Ruth Kiesling

Cathy Shim

Meg

Terence Bernie Hines

Phillip Crosby

M. Emmet Walsh

Larry Kiesling

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Synopsis

Desperate for money, an aimless Arizona woman hatches a crazy scheme to kidnap the body of President James Buchanan and hold it for ransom.

Director: Bruce Dellis
Producer: Joe Gruberman
Screenwriter: Bruce Dellis
Production Co: Cheese Board Productions
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 5, 2020
Runtime: 1h 36m

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