8 MUST SEE POLITICAL MOVIES
With the political conventions just a few months away, this seem like the appropriate time to highlight must see political movies. And here are Family Movie Night Tips to inspire you to plan a movie night with friends and family.
1.Election – (1999)- Starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. A clever high school comedy revolving around an annoying overachiever (Witherspoon) with ambitions of becoming class president and a quirky social studies teacher with personal problems running the election. A well written, slightly dark comedy with a good supporting cast.
2. Dave– (1993)- Starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella. A Capra-esque comedy involving a Presidential impersonator who actually gets to play the President for real and starts to follow his own agenda. A light hearted romantic comedy with a talented cast. Directed by Ivan Reitman.
3. Lincoln (2011)- Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field. A period piece based upon Lincoln’s final days in office and his decision to free the slaves and unite the country. Set during the last few months of the Civil War, this award winning movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and received 12 Academy Award nominations.
4. The American President (1995)-Starring Michael Douglas and Annette Benning. A well acted romantic comedy regarding a widowed President who becomes involved with an environmental lobbyist, much to the chagrin of his staff and the delight of his political enemies. A light hearted comedy with some relatively serious political undertones. Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin.
5. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)- Starring Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh. The original version of an American classic. A U.S. Army hero returns home and is pegged for political greatness. Unfortunately, he has been brainwashed by the Soviets as an assassin with a high level target. A classic cat-and-mouse thriller. Directed by Frank Langenheimer. A less popular remake was made in 2004 with Denzel Washington and Live Schreiber
6. The Candidate (1972)- Starring Robert Redford, Peter Boyle. An idealistic lawyer is convinced to run for office by political office against a seemingly undefeatable foe. Hoping just to bring a some class and dignity to the typically “dirty” politics of the day, he is inevitably drawn into the back alley deals and forced to compromise his integrity. Prophetic of modern day politics.
7. All the President’s Men (1976)- Starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. A mainly factual account of the Watergate Scandal and the two journalists (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein) who brought down the Nixon Administration. An all-star cast and considered an American classic. Nominated for Best Picture. Fun fact: It was heavily favored to win Best Picture but lost out to an upstart Sylvester Stallone in Rocky.
8. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)- Starring Jimmy Stewart and Claude Rains. An American classic upon which most political satire/commentaries are based. An idealistic and naïve young man is appointed to fill a vacant Senate seat by the Governor. He heads to Washington with big ideas, but is immediately beset by political corruption and back stabbing politicians. Directed by Frank Capra.
What’s your favorite political movie?
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post.
