The makers of “Recount,” which dramatized the turbulent (and seemingly unresolvable) presidential election of 2000, are at it again. With “Game Change,” writer Danny Strong and director Jay Roach are focused on the Republican frontrunners of the 2008 election cycle, namely Senator John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin.
And, by golly, did they cast to type.
Ed Harris (with some added hair) is a dead ringer for McCain, while Moore doesn’t quite look as much like Palin as, say, Tina Fey, but should have no problem delivering the dramatic chops. Palin’s nasally vocal quirks are fairly easy to mimic, but tough to sound believable. From the one sentence in the trailer, it’s hard to tell if Moore has pulled it off. While she’s usually a wiz with accents and affectations (“A Single Man” and “The Big Lebowski” come to mind), her over-the-top Boston accent on “30 Rock” was heavily criticized by fans.
The plot probably doesn’t need to be explained, but after the Democratic party position Barack Obama as their ’08 frontrunner, the GOP decides to shake things up by adding outspoken Alaskan governor Palin to the ticket with McCain. Woody Harrelson plays senior campaign strategist Steve Schmidt. “Game Change” also stars Ron Livingston, Sarah Paulson, Peter MacNicol and more.
“Game Change,” based on Mark Halperin and John Heilemann’s book of the same name, premieres in March on HBO.
What do you think of Harris and Moore in the trailer?