Customer Reviews

The Party's Over: An Uncensored Journey Into Democracy In America

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Phillip Seymour Hoffman may be best known for trying to pash Mark Wahlberg in "boogie Knights" or ordering home delievered porn while caring for the elderly in "Magnolia" but he steps to the other side of the camera to craft a tremendously thought provoking documentary with "The Party's over".

The doco begins 6 months before the 2000 elections and ranges from capturing the republican and democratic conventions on the inside contrasted with some chilling images of police brutality to the protestors outside, to the bewildering election result and the inaugeration months later.

The main question of the documentary is "do any of these politicians actually represent us" and Hoffman is openly cynical that the Democrats and Republicans represent what the American people want. The footage of the shadow convention with Ralph Nader is a highlight, as is the bizarre booking of Hoffmans friends rock band to play the RNC and thus gain hitherto unavailable access to the event. Also the Special feature bonus interview with Micahel Moore is hilarious, the only blight on the doco is hen Hoffman inexplicably manages to lose an argument and make himslef look rather slow witted when a rightwing religious republican argues that charity is a purely "Christian value" and no one outside of that beleif system has ever thought to help a fellow human being. Its hilarious when the camera crew is turned away from the Republican event and returns a few hours later wearing George W pins and badges and are escorted right through. This doco left me thinking for a long time, which is what good ones will do

A scruffy Philip Seymour Hoffman takes to the road with a camera crew in the six months before the 2000 presidential election to document the dysfunctions of our political system. There's nothing new, ambitious, or very challenging about that goal, and Hoffman does nothing to deepen or clarify the film's subject, which by its end is entirely predictable--more disgruntled citizens (mainly from the left), some of them famous, others obscure, like homeless activists and sloganeering protesters. The film also loses focus by a staccato presentation of endless hot button issues, including farm aid, the WTO, the Million Mom March, legalization of drugs, capital punishment, welfare, corporate influence, voter apathy, etc. Much of the film focuses on the Republican and Democratic presidential conventions. Just how much can you learn from thirty-second sound bites from Willie Nelson, Charlton Heston, Ralph Reed, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sarandon, Rosie O'Donnell, Bianca Jagger, Pat Robertson, Barney Frank, and Newt Gingerich? Of course, at this point the film is also badly dated.

At this point, a slew of documentaries have already come out about the election, both 2004 and 2000, yet somehow there is always still a new approach to be found. That is what this film does, as Philip Seymour Hoffman takes us back to right before the 2000 political conventions, all the way up to the 2000 election.

Now what this film does differently, and thus makes it a worthwhile choice, is that it does not lecture and it attempts more of a bi-partisan viewpoint, or maybe just a third-party viewpoint. Obviously there is influence through the creators and Hoffman on what occurs, but for the most part I felt educated, yet balanced.

And once again, this film helps me remind myself, and hopefully others, how important the overall political/election process is, even when the two candidates maybe similar, or the system seems to fail us. Yep, this film reminds us all that, while definitely reminding us more work is to be done.

A look at the Right, the Left and everything in between. Pretty good documentary that allows you to think for yourself. The scene with Pat Robertson was hilarious and worth watching for that alone. That man always seems to be saying something strange and just plain off the wall.

Hoffman does a good job of interviewing people and asking questions. This is definitely worth watching.

This is not worth time or money. It has nothing to do w/Philip Seymour-a great actor. Avoid this.