The War Room

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david f Lots of 90s nostalgia here in this behind the scenes look at the Clinton campaign for the 1992 presidential election. One thing that jumped out at me was how many scenes there were of people reading newspapers. I guess newspapers still had a few years left of relevancy but it looked very foreign and odd. James Carville gave a great speech at the end when he acknowledged all the hard work the campaign staffers had put into the campaign, it was a fitting climax. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review s r Insightful, if you're into politics. It also makes you hate the political spin. Saw on HBO. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member In the modern world of reality TV and fly-on-the-wall documentaries this doesn't feel particularly revolutionary but I can only imagine what it must have been like to watch it back in 1993. And even if the novelty doesn't feel particularly strong today it still remains a fascinating bit of political history. And thank god James Carville shouts so much, I could rarely hear what poor Stephanopoulos was saying! Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member This largely one-sided but refreshingly unsensationalized doc entertainingly shows how the political sausage is made. And James Carville is a national treasure, and he alone makes this worth watching. In reference to the Ross Perot presidential campaign celebration, he said: "It is the most expensive single act of masturbation in the world." Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Nowhere near as eye opening and revealing as I'd hoped but nonetheless a rather immersive and engaging documentary about the people who really run Presidential campaigns. The documentary feels at times that it just scrapes the surface and only ever so quickly actually goes over the issues at hand. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Presented in a shockingly hands-off fashion, The War Room is the most insightful look at politics ever put to film. Documentarians Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker don't judge their subjects, nor do they weigh in on the politics of the moment. Both would be mistakes, robbing The War Room of its most interesting quality-its unabashed honesty. Key figures like James Carville and George Stephanopoulos (who are household names now, but weren't exactly at the time of the film's release) don't play for the cameras; They go about their business as they would if Hegedus and Pennebaker weren't around. They don't even look at the camera. It's a little startling at first because documentaries just aren't made this way anymore. But it's a great watch, and the subject matter is compelling enough that interference and manipulation aren't necessary to keep you glued to the screen. The film follows Carville, Stephanopoulos, and the other key figures in Governor Bill Clinton's 1992 bid for the presidency. It starts in New Hampshire with the Clinton candidacy on the ropes. Gennifer Flowers had just come forward with a potentially damning story about her supposed 12-year affair with him, and his opponents (especially California Governor Jerry Brown) seem poised for big things. But a surprise second-place finish and the new monicker "Comeback Kid" help turn the campaign around and ultimately drive him toward the nomination. Carville and company are working with a totally different playbook, and they're going to need it with the attack machine of President George H. W. Bush ready to head into overdrive. There are moments of pure idealism in The War Room. Carville's Election Day Eve speech to his crew is genuinely moving, and the anger he expresses when venting to colleagues about the media's portrayal of their candidate is equally sincere. As often as the film depicts politics as an honorable game, however, someone does something cold and calculating. Take Stephanopoulos' Election Day Eve phone call from a Ross Perot staffer. With an extremely problematic (for Clinton) allegation on the table, Stephanopoulos politely threatens his opponent before heading into the next room to celebrate with his friends and colleagues. It's an admittedly brilliant move, but it's not exactly one of the campaign's finest hours. With political campaigning more brutal than ever before, the maneuvering in The War Room seems benign by comparison. But the lessons learned still seem relevant. The luckiest people are the ones who work the hardest. You really can't go anywhere unless you believe in the cause. And (of course), it's the economy, stupid. http://www.johnlikesmovies.com/war-room/ Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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