A Voice in the Wilderness In Defense of "Mere Conservatism"

In A Perpetual "State of Play"

Movie Review by: R.J. Moeller

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before? Powerful forces (i.e. an evil corporation) with connections at the highest level of government is embroiled in a scandal that involves , double agents, and rough-neck reporters with hearts-of-gold who have to put it all on the line so the truth can get out. Sound familiar?

If so, then you’ve either already seen State of Play , the new Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck political thriller, or you’ve seen almost any other film in this genre made since the Robert Redford-Dustin Hoffman political thriller All The President’s Men in 1976.

Without attempting to break much new ground in the realm of conspiracy tales, State of Play is still an engaging 2 hours, highlighted by strong performances from the film’s two stars, Crowe and Affleck. The story is fast-paced and rarely lags, although by the end it may try to zig-and-zag one too many zig’s. (Or is it zags?) But like I said, the stars live up to their billing, and it’s entertaining to watch them work.

Crowe plays the shaggy-haired reporter whose best friend and college roommate, Affleck, is a Congressman investigating a paramilitary corporation (think: Blackwater) that stands to make upwards of $40 billion in homeland security government contracts. Affleck’s character is having an affair with a - ed on his staff who is shockingly ed, and old-school investigative reporter Crowe, who once had an affair of his own with Affleck’s wife, suspects there’s been foul play on behalf of the Corp being investigated.

Chaos ensues.

There are leads to follow, old wounds to mend, and a looming newspaper -line to meet for Crowe and his femme reporter sidekick played by the painfully gorgeous Rachel McAdams. As the dynamic duo of Crowe and McAdams begin to peel away the layers of the complicated story, the writer and director take literally every opportunity possible to remind us how dangerous and icky those private corporations are, and how much safer the federal government running things always is.

RJ: Hey Hollywood, can you possibly keep saying the same distorted negative things about the military, free enterprise, and Republicans in every third movie produced in the last 30 years?

Hollwood: Yes We Can!

Oh, and there are numerous shots at non-newspaper sources of information (websites, blogs, cable news networks, on-line magazines, etc.), including a clearly out-of-place and forced dialogue between Crowe and Affleck during the film’s climactic finish in which Crowe poignantly reminds us that newspapers are where people really interested in the truth still get it.

Ahhh! We're the New York Times! The Los Angeles Times! The Seattle Post Intelligencer! Please read us, you twits who used to subscribe! Sure we’re losing readers because we’re condescending liberal anti-journalistic quagmires of biased information poorly masked as "real" news, but instead of answering the public’s demand for more fair-and-balanced reporting we’ll shame those who don’t read us and pridefully go down with our financially un-salvageable, sinking ship.

Sorry, back to the movie.

The action/violence in State of Play comes in spurts, and is mostly of the cat-and-mouse variety, but each of these scenes do add some real excitement. Jason Bateman of Arrested Development fame and Academy Award winner Helen Miren (The Queen) are two nice additions as side characters, and overall the casting and acting were spot-on.

There is no , a handful of profanities, and some “adult” conversations about the various romantic affairs involving the main characters. The PG-13 rating is more than fair.

The only real warning I will offer is that if you suffer from what is commonly known as “Disingenuous Support of Our Troops-itis”, then you might want to bring a copy of General Patton’s War As I Knew It autobiography, or a downloaded version of John Wayne’s performance in The Longest Day on your iPod to help the spell of rage you might experience during specific scenes in this film pass.

For those of you who suffer from this affliction, you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it. For the rest of you, enjoy the movie and be grateful you can still derive full pleasure from entertainment that subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) seeks to undermine your traditional, conservative worldview.

I mean it, I’m jealous. I can’t watch a Fruit Loops commercial without reading politics in to it.

While I grant State of Play a “Cheap Theater” rating, I do offer the promise of little-to-no regret for anyone who goes to see this film before it gets to that shady theater one town over from your own that charges like $2 for admission to 6-month old flicks. You know, the place where the floor surface apparently is made entirely of spilled pop and discarded chewing gum?

State of Play: Good acting. Cool idea. But in the end, a story that falls short of being great.

Enough said.

RJ’s Fool-proof Rating System:

“New Theater, Opening Night” (Charlton Heston would have Fandango-ed this one already)

“New Theater” (Worth your time and $10)

“Cheap Theater” (No rush, but better seen on a screen bigger than the one you got at home)

“Rental-worthy” (For when the movie you wanted at Blockbuster is all checked out)

“Bad” (Someone should offer a public apology for the distribution of this film)