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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Sarah Palin wasn't heard from much in the months leading up to the 2013 home video release of Game Change. But anyone who's forgotten what they do or don't admire about her need only watch a few minutes of Julianne Moore's uncanny performance as the former Alaska governor and 2008 vice-presidential candidate; so completely does Moore inhabit the role in appearance, voice, and mannerisms that it's easy to mistake her for the genuine article. Not that this HBO film, directed by Jay Roach and written by Danny Strong from the book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, is an especially flattering portrait of Palin or any of the other featured players, with the possible exception of Ed Harris's Senator John McCain, who's depicted as a fair and decent man caught up in a political tsunami he did little to generate. As the '08 election looms, McCain's team, led by campaign manager Steve Schmidt (Woody Harrelson), sees Palin as a charismatic figure who can match Barack Obama's star power, as well as a devout, pro-life candidate who will satisfy the Republican party's conservative wing. Problem is, they're so impressed by her poise and confidence that they fail to even notice, let alone research, her considerable downside--like the almost total ignorance of issues and lack of intellectual curiosity that result in her not knowing that it's Britain's prime minister, not the queen, who runs the government, or who the United States fought in World Wars I and II, among other jaw-dropping revelations. Moore's Palin isn't a totally unsympathetic character; she's fiercely protective of her family, committed to her principles, and capable of rallying the troops at key moments (such as her acceptance speech at the GOP convention). But this "pit bull with lipstick" image is more than countered by episodes in which she acts like a churlish, borderline irrational child who's more concerned with her Alaska opinion polls than prepping for the ultimately disastrous interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric, after which she blames everyone but herself. In the end, her supporters will claim that the film gives her a bad rap. But others will breathe a sigh of relief that this fascinatingly flawed politician didn't end up a heartbeat away from the presidency. --Sam Graham
Product Description
Game Change is a searing, behind-the-scenes look at John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, from the decision to select Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as McCain’s running mate to the ticket’s ultimate defeat in the general election just sixty days later. Told primarily through the eyes of senior McCain strategist Steve Schmidt, who originally championed Palin and later came to regret the choice, Game Change pulls back the curtain on the intense human drama surrounding the McCain team, the critical decisions made behind closed doors and how the choice was made to bring Palin on the ticket. The film examines how we choose our leaders by offering a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an historic campaign.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
167 of 192 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
"Game Change" is an awesome movie about the McCain/Palin campaign. The film doesn't portray McCain in a bad light at all, and really focuses on what a complete imbecile Sarah Palin (played with Tina Fey-like precision by Julianne Moore) is. I really hope that some of the things in the film are exaggerations, because if Palin really is this much of a moron (and yes, it gets much worse than her claiming that she can see Russia from her house), then I am even more terrified of what this country has come to than I ever was before. In some ways, although the film definitely paints a picture of Palin as being an ignorant (and perhaps even mentally unstable) woman who is absolutely 100% unqualified to hold a government job of any kind, "Game Change" also shifts a lot of the blame on McCain's campaign advisors, who suggested Palin for the VP slot without ever doing their homework on her. Yes, she had no business being associated with that campaign in any way, but the real blame falls with the power-hungry strategists who foolishly appointed Palin to the position of McCain's running mate.
I really enjoyed the film, which is amusing and also downright scary at time. The performances are excellent, and Moore will walk away with a Golden Globe for sure.
I really enjoyed the film, which is amusing and also downright scary at time. The performances are excellent, and Moore will walk away with a Golden Globe for sure.
72 of 86 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Released almost a year to the day after Barack Obama took his place as President of the United States, Game Change landed into the political soccer field with a wallop, and quickly became the talk of the DC insider circuit. Written by Mark Halperin and John Heileman, the gossipy tell-all proved to be the final escape hatch for a lot of supposed experts who saw their careers waylaid by piss poor decisions, leading to a level of backstabbing and leaked information that was virtually unprecedented. It made for an entertaining read, like skimming through the National Enquirer while in a check-out line. And much like those scandalous rags with their silly celebrity headlines, most of what was inside turned out to be true, despite all the protestations by those the book would highlight.
Game Change was pretty even handed in it's dirt digging, exposing some ugly facts about Hilary Clinton's 2008 campaign as well as the bedroom shenanigans of John Edwards. For HBO's new film adaptation of the book, from the same guys who gave us the excellent Recount a few years ago, the focus is squarely on the Republican side of the ticket, and the roller coaster that was John McCain(Ed Harris) and his polarizing running mate, Sarah Palin(Julianne Moore).
Consider the film less of a biopic and more of a fact finding mission, as writer Danny Strong attempts to uncover how a dedicated war hero with a campaign proudly boasting "Country First" could nominate someone as hopeless as Palin to be within a breath of the Presidency. The obvious answer is desperation, but there's more to it than that. It takes a concerted and sustained level of willful ignorance for something like this to happen, and it starts right at the top. Centering mostly on McCain's senior adviser, Steve Schmidt(Woody Harrelson), who first put forth the idea of selecting the popular Alaskan Governor as a means of rallying the flagging conservative base, the campaign's highs and lows are seen mostly through his bloodshot eyes. Palin's nomination would not only give the base the red meat it so desired, steal the thunder from the mega popular Obama machine, and possibly even rally the Clinton supporters to their side. The campaign needed a game changer, and Palin was it. She was the world's most charismatic lump of clay, ready to be shaped. Or so they thought. She was new to the national stage, however, and was instantly a liability in terms of experience. Could McCain give up his principles and select someone he knows isn't ready to be President, all just for the sake of a victory? Would he be "Country First" when it really mattered?
For those who follow the political grind on a daily basis, there's little new to learn about who Sarah Palin was back then. She was a simple, determined mother who got caught up in the glitz of the global stage. When she accepts the vice-presidential nomination, her calm and reserve is unbelievable, shocking everyone in McCain's camp. However, it isn't long before they realize just how big of a mistake they've made, and all the attempts to pull a Pygmalion on her are going to be utter failures. The film shows her disastrous, often mocked interviews with Charlie Gibson(although the "Bush Doctrine" question is left out) and Katie Couric, where Palin is stumped by a simple question of what newspapers she reads. The constant criticism forces her into a mental breakdown of sorts, and any attempt to help her is met with resistance. Uh oh, time to start goin' rogue!
The film is especially fascinated with two defining character arcs. One is Palin's transformation from an unknown hockey mom into an egotistical, perpetual victim who terrorized her staff, leading to some claiming she was mentally unstable. The other is that of Schmidt, who comes to see how the decision he made in choosing her was the most awful mistake of his career, that didn't just threaten McCain's campaign, but also could ruin everyone's reputation forever. Oh, and it might damage the country's standing in the world, too. Julianne Moore is going to get all the attention for her performance as Palin, and she darn well deserves it. After so many Palin imitations, not the least of which by Tina Fey, playing her in any realistic manner is tough, but Moore nails her folksy manner and Eddie Haskell charm perfectly. If this was a feature film, Moore would be a shoe-in for Best Actress right now. Harrelson shouldn't be overlooked, either. His Steve Schmidt(aka the "Schmidt Head) bears little resemblance to the real man, now an excellent MSNBC contributor. The only thing they have in common is the bald head. Harrelson creates his own version of Schmidt, a man conflicted by his pledge to do everything to win and his desire to maintain some dignity.
Few people come out of this smelling like a rose, although it's not entirely a hit piece. Palin does come off as someone completely overwhelmed by the experience, even if she entered it for all the right reasons. There are some genuinely effective moments that portray her in a positive light, or at the very least show why she resonated with so many people. One of those scenes comes fairly early on, as she's speaking about her disable son, Trig. To have someone of Palin's stature have a personal stake in advocating for children of special needs struck home with a lot of people. As she began to lose more of herself to the needs of the campaign, Palin lost that connection and was consumed by the need to say and do anything to win. It became all about her need for more of the spotlight. Ultimately she comes off as nasty, mean-spirited, conniving, and worst of all.....dumb.
Jay Roach and Danny Strong do their usual excellent job navigating the political waters with a mix of humor and darkness, as they did with Recount. The 2008 campaign is arguably the most fascinating in this country's history, and the film only shows us one small sliver of it. As well as it shows the dramatic surge of enthusiasm Palin provides to Republicans, we never get to see the equal amounts of fear she inspired in the Democratic base. In fact, we only see Barack Obama and Joe Biden in stock footage. HBO may be looking at the first leg of a possible trilogy here, with the next showing the combative primary between Hilary Clinton and Obama. Then...if we're all lucky, maybe we'll get to see Obama's historic Presidential campaign from his perspective?
Game Change was pretty even handed in it's dirt digging, exposing some ugly facts about Hilary Clinton's 2008 campaign as well as the bedroom shenanigans of John Edwards. For HBO's new film adaptation of the book, from the same guys who gave us the excellent Recount a few years ago, the focus is squarely on the Republican side of the ticket, and the roller coaster that was John McCain(Ed Harris) and his polarizing running mate, Sarah Palin(Julianne Moore).
Consider the film less of a biopic and more of a fact finding mission, as writer Danny Strong attempts to uncover how a dedicated war hero with a campaign proudly boasting "Country First" could nominate someone as hopeless as Palin to be within a breath of the Presidency. The obvious answer is desperation, but there's more to it than that. It takes a concerted and sustained level of willful ignorance for something like this to happen, and it starts right at the top. Centering mostly on McCain's senior adviser, Steve Schmidt(Woody Harrelson), who first put forth the idea of selecting the popular Alaskan Governor as a means of rallying the flagging conservative base, the campaign's highs and lows are seen mostly through his bloodshot eyes. Palin's nomination would not only give the base the red meat it so desired, steal the thunder from the mega popular Obama machine, and possibly even rally the Clinton supporters to their side. The campaign needed a game changer, and Palin was it. She was the world's most charismatic lump of clay, ready to be shaped. Or so they thought. She was new to the national stage, however, and was instantly a liability in terms of experience. Could McCain give up his principles and select someone he knows isn't ready to be President, all just for the sake of a victory? Would he be "Country First" when it really mattered?
For those who follow the political grind on a daily basis, there's little new to learn about who Sarah Palin was back then. She was a simple, determined mother who got caught up in the glitz of the global stage. When she accepts the vice-presidential nomination, her calm and reserve is unbelievable, shocking everyone in McCain's camp. However, it isn't long before they realize just how big of a mistake they've made, and all the attempts to pull a Pygmalion on her are going to be utter failures. The film shows her disastrous, often mocked interviews with Charlie Gibson(although the "Bush Doctrine" question is left out) and Katie Couric, where Palin is stumped by a simple question of what newspapers she reads. The constant criticism forces her into a mental breakdown of sorts, and any attempt to help her is met with resistance. Uh oh, time to start goin' rogue!
The film is especially fascinated with two defining character arcs. One is Palin's transformation from an unknown hockey mom into an egotistical, perpetual victim who terrorized her staff, leading to some claiming she was mentally unstable. The other is that of Schmidt, who comes to see how the decision he made in choosing her was the most awful mistake of his career, that didn't just threaten McCain's campaign, but also could ruin everyone's reputation forever. Oh, and it might damage the country's standing in the world, too. Julianne Moore is going to get all the attention for her performance as Palin, and she darn well deserves it. After so many Palin imitations, not the least of which by Tina Fey, playing her in any realistic manner is tough, but Moore nails her folksy manner and Eddie Haskell charm perfectly. If this was a feature film, Moore would be a shoe-in for Best Actress right now. Harrelson shouldn't be overlooked, either. His Steve Schmidt(aka the "Schmidt Head) bears little resemblance to the real man, now an excellent MSNBC contributor. The only thing they have in common is the bald head. Harrelson creates his own version of Schmidt, a man conflicted by his pledge to do everything to win and his desire to maintain some dignity.
Few people come out of this smelling like a rose, although it's not entirely a hit piece. Palin does come off as someone completely overwhelmed by the experience, even if she entered it for all the right reasons. There are some genuinely effective moments that portray her in a positive light, or at the very least show why she resonated with so many people. One of those scenes comes fairly early on, as she's speaking about her disable son, Trig. To have someone of Palin's stature have a personal stake in advocating for children of special needs struck home with a lot of people. As she began to lose more of herself to the needs of the campaign, Palin lost that connection and was consumed by the need to say and do anything to win. It became all about her need for more of the spotlight. Ultimately she comes off as nasty, mean-spirited, conniving, and worst of all.....dumb.
Jay Roach and Danny Strong do their usual excellent job navigating the political waters with a mix of humor and darkness, as they did with Recount. The 2008 campaign is arguably the most fascinating in this country's history, and the film only shows us one small sliver of it. As well as it shows the dramatic surge of enthusiasm Palin provides to Republicans, we never get to see the equal amounts of fear she inspired in the Democratic base. In fact, we only see Barack Obama and Joe Biden in stock footage. HBO may be looking at the first leg of a possible trilogy here, with the next showing the combative primary between Hilary Clinton and Obama. Then...if we're all lucky, maybe we'll get to see Obama's historic Presidential campaign from his perspective?
32 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
More than anything, "Game Change" is a character study; the character in this case being Sarah Palin. The film portrays her as a complicated, powerful woman who was suddenly thrust into the international political spotlight, then forced to deal with all of the pressure, scrutiny, adoration, criticism, and condemnation that followed.
"Game Change" will probably not please many people, at least from a political point of view. People who despise Sarah Palin will probably think the film is too sympathetic towards her, as she is portrayed as a devoted mother and wife, as a charismatic public figure with the ability to connect with people in a way that few politicians do, and as a person genuinely committed to her Christian faith. At the same time, those who love Sarah Palin will probably think the film portrays her too harshly, showing her as not terribly intelligent, combative, naive, and narcissistic. In a way, the film's greatest strength is also its weakness - it portrays a polarizing figure as a complex, real human being.
All character-driven films that succeed have to be cast with excellent actors, and Julianne Moore's exceptional, multi-faceted performance completely anchors the film. Moore's performance was especially critical in this case, because aside from her performance as Palin, there is not much else of interest. Woody Harrelson gives a strong supporting performance as Steve Schmidt, the advisor who first champions Palin as John McCain's running mate and then comes to regret it, but the character is never really fully fleshed out. And Ed Harris, a fine actor, is rather wasted playing John McCain. The character is portrayed as a benevolent, paternal figure, far from the volatile loose cannon he is rumored to be in real life. Palin's family are mostly relegated to being supportive and loving, and the drama of daughter Bristol's pregnancy is mostly glossed over.
Aside from being a character study, the film does succeed in making one strong, good point about modern politics: that today's politicians are required to be charismatic and telegenic; more like film stars than intelligent, thoughtful, experienced public servants. Palin was chosen mostly due to her attractiveness, charisma, and her gender (a calculated maneuver to lure female voters). And the film also suggests that President Obama was chosen by the American people for mostly the same reasons.
"Game Change" will probably not please many people, at least from a political point of view. People who despise Sarah Palin will probably think the film is too sympathetic towards her, as she is portrayed as a devoted mother and wife, as a charismatic public figure with the ability to connect with people in a way that few politicians do, and as a person genuinely committed to her Christian faith. At the same time, those who love Sarah Palin will probably think the film portrays her too harshly, showing her as not terribly intelligent, combative, naive, and narcissistic. In a way, the film's greatest strength is also its weakness - it portrays a polarizing figure as a complex, real human being.
All character-driven films that succeed have to be cast with excellent actors, and Julianne Moore's exceptional, multi-faceted performance completely anchors the film. Moore's performance was especially critical in this case, because aside from her performance as Palin, there is not much else of interest. Woody Harrelson gives a strong supporting performance as Steve Schmidt, the advisor who first champions Palin as John McCain's running mate and then comes to regret it, but the character is never really fully fleshed out. And Ed Harris, a fine actor, is rather wasted playing John McCain. The character is portrayed as a benevolent, paternal figure, far from the volatile loose cannon he is rumored to be in real life. Palin's family are mostly relegated to being supportive and loving, and the drama of daughter Bristol's pregnancy is mostly glossed over.
Aside from being a character study, the film does succeed in making one strong, good point about modern politics: that today's politicians are required to be charismatic and telegenic; more like film stars than intelligent, thoughtful, experienced public servants. Palin was chosen mostly due to her attractiveness, charisma, and her gender (a calculated maneuver to lure female voters). And the film also suggests that President Obama was chosen by the American people for mostly the same reasons.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Authentic Portrayal
Julianne Moore is amazing, Woody Harrelson is very very good. Ed Harris nailed John Mc Cain and I found myself realising I didn't know the "real" John McCain as well as I thought I... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Gail Cameron-Emery
5.0 out of 5 stars
GAME CHANGE
GAME CHANGE:
An excellent cast and Woody Harrelson portrayed his role great. The movie shows the american people what lenghts politicans go to win the end game.
An excellent cast and Woody Harrelson portrayed his role great. The movie shows the american people what lenghts politicans go to win the end game.
Published 7 days ago by Aleta Parrish
5.0 out of 5 stars
Game Change
Great movie. Gives you a whole other side of Sarah and how the campaign went down. Very well written movie.
Published 9 days ago by Jeff Lickei
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Insightful.
It was a wonderful look at how the McCain -Palin campaign failed itself.
I Highly recommend this film to everyone.
I Highly recommend this film to everyone.
Published 10 days ago by Ronald A. Woolever
5.0 out of 5 stars
Political insight
Great chance to see some inner workings. McCain presented in a good light. Sarah not so much so. Shown as an unbelievable narcissist. Great movie for political junkies.
Published 10 days ago by D. R. Walsh
5.0 out of 5 stars
We know the story, but...
Julianne Moore is amazing as Sarah Palin. Woody Harrelson's performance is great, too. And who else to play John McCain but Ed Harris? Read more
Published 15 days ago by J. Carpenter
4.0 out of 5 stars
Astonishing true life story
Pressed into a corner by the far right and trying to make a statement, John McCain's advisors pick an untested governor from Alaska to be their vice-presidential candidate. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Amy K.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Movie
I loved this movie....Julianne Moore is absolutely fantastic in it with her portrayal of Sarah Palin. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Christos Kaitatzis
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly frightening portrayal of current politics
An excellent performance by all actors makes this movie engaging, enlightening and frightening. Julianne Moore's portrayal of Sarah Palin is downright spooky. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Len J.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sarah Scores
Read the book, movie a fair summary.
For better or worse an influential figure is borne notwithstanding the
attempted media eviseration. Read more
For better or worse an influential figure is borne notwithstanding the
attempted media eviseration. Read more
Published 21 days ago by James Doyle
