Welcome to Mooseport
Y
Feb 17, 2004
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Welcome to Mooseport."
"Welcome to Mooseport" joins the ranks of Hollywood movies about politics that are devoid of political content. Offering mild observations about celebrity and the media, the film centers on a popular ex-president's transition from the White House to rustic New England. The script by Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society," "What About Bob?") is concerned mainly with personal integrity and romantic commitment, subjects he treats with vague generalities. From the first scenes of "Mooseport," which unfolds like a sitcom pilot, it's evident where the pieces will fall. When they do, the impact is minor.
Compounding the sense of predictability and deja vu is the presence of well-known TV actors portraying the sorts of characters they've perfected on the small screen. Ray Romano, making his onscreen film debut (after a voice role in "Ice Age"), puts his tentative, low-voltage delivery to effective use in playing a regular guy -- but fans of "Everybody Loves Raymond" will find more laughs in his weekly series. Film vets Gene Hackman and Marcia Gay Harden lend whatever nuance they can muster, but there's only so much to be done with Schulman's broad-stroke comedy. When the votes are in, the Donald Petrie-helmed film will poll strongest among older audiences, but it won't secure a landslide for Fox.
Hackman plays the very presidentially named Monroe "Eagle" Cole, a Democrat fresh off two terms with approval ratings through the roof. A smooth operator with a self-deprecating facade, Monroe is essentially decent and driven by ego -- Hackman puts it all across with his customary naturalness. As the first commander-in-chief to be divorced while in office, he's facing tough alimony negotiations with his vindictive ex (Christine Baranski, in what feels like inevitable casting). With his entourage of Secret Service and staff, Monroe sets up camp at his sprawling summer estate in the laid-back burg of Mooseport, Maine.
Before he can choose among big-bucks offers for memoirs and speaking engagements, the village elders enlist him to fill the void left by their deceased mayor. But what was meant to be an unchallenged run for office turns into a close -- and closely watched -- race between the ex-president and a plumber.
The rivalry between Monroe and Handy Harrison (Romano) is less about issues than about jealousy and male posturing -- specifically for the affections of veterinarian Sally (Maura Tierney), Handy's girlfriend of six years. In a tired story line whose outcome is clear, she's increasingly frustrated with his refusal to pop the question and quickly says yes when Monroe asks her out.
Rip Torn, playing Monroe's campaign manager, arrives upon the scene like a much-needed tonic to the bland proceedings. In the film's best sequences, political strategy sessions focus on urgencies like whether the former president should cancel a date, and the broadcast media get mileage out of his rebuffed good-night kiss.
Those bright moments don't compensate for Petrie and Schulman's condescending view of ain't-they-wacky yokels. Costumer Vicki Graef and production designer David Chapman emphasize the cliched divide between the power elite's country chic and the plaid-flannel brigade's down-home clutter.
WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT
20th Century Fox
Mediastream IV/Intermedia
Credits:
Director: Donald Petrie
Screenwriter: Tom Schulman
Producers: Tom Schulman, Basil Iwanyk
Executive producers: Rory Rosegarten, David Coatsworth, Moritz Borman, Doug Richardson
Director of photography: Victor Hammer
Production designer: David Chapman
Music: John Debney
Costume designer: Vicki Graef
Editor: Debra Neil-Fisher
Cast:
Monroe Cole: Gene Hackman
Handy Harrison: Ray Romano
Grace Sutherland: Marcia Gay Harden
Sally Mannis: Maura Tierney
Charlotte Cole: Christine Baranski
Bullard: Fred Savage
Bert Langdon: Rip Torn
Irma: June Squibb
Morris: Wayne Robson
Martha: Jackie Richardson
Mandy: Reagan Pasternak
Reuben: Jim Feather
Harve: Ed Fielding
Running time -- 111 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
"Welcome to Mooseport" joins the ranks of Hollywood movies about politics that are devoid of political content. Offering mild observations about celebrity and the media, the film centers on a popular ex-president's transition from the White House to rustic New England. The script by Tom Schulman ("Dead Poets Society," "What About Bob?") is concerned mainly with personal integrity and romantic commitment, subjects he treats with vague generalities. From the first scenes of "Mooseport," which unfolds like a sitcom pilot, it's evident where the pieces will fall. When they do, the impact is minor.
Compounding the sense of predictability and deja vu is the presence of well-known TV actors portraying the sorts of characters they've perfected on the small screen. Ray Romano, making his onscreen film debut (after a voice role in "Ice Age"), puts his tentative, low-voltage delivery to effective use in playing a regular guy -- but fans of "Everybody Loves Raymond" will find more laughs in his weekly series. Film vets Gene Hackman and Marcia Gay Harden lend whatever nuance they can muster, but there's only so much to be done with Schulman's broad-stroke comedy. When the votes are in, the Donald Petrie-helmed film will poll strongest among older audiences, but it won't secure a landslide for Fox.
Hackman plays the very presidentially named Monroe "Eagle" Cole, a Democrat fresh off two terms with approval ratings through the roof. A smooth operator with a self-deprecating facade, Monroe is essentially decent and driven by ego -- Hackman puts it all across with his customary naturalness. As the first commander-in-chief to be divorced while in office, he's facing tough alimony negotiations with his vindictive ex (Christine Baranski, in what feels like inevitable casting). With his entourage of Secret Service and staff, Monroe sets up camp at his sprawling summer estate in the laid-back burg of Mooseport, Maine.
Before he can choose among big-bucks offers for memoirs and speaking engagements, the village elders enlist him to fill the void left by their deceased mayor. But what was meant to be an unchallenged run for office turns into a close -- and closely watched -- race between the ex-president and a plumber.
The rivalry between Monroe and Handy Harrison (Romano) is less about issues than about jealousy and male posturing -- specifically for the affections of veterinarian Sally (Maura Tierney), Handy's girlfriend of six years. In a tired story line whose outcome is clear, she's increasingly frustrated with his refusal to pop the question and quickly says yes when Monroe asks her out.
Rip Torn, playing Monroe's campaign manager, arrives upon the scene like a much-needed tonic to the bland proceedings. In the film's best sequences, political strategy sessions focus on urgencies like whether the former president should cancel a date, and the broadcast media get mileage out of his rebuffed good-night kiss.
Those bright moments don't compensate for Petrie and Schulman's condescending view of ain't-they-wacky yokels. Costumer Vicki Graef and production designer David Chapman emphasize the cliched divide between the power elite's country chic and the plaid-flannel brigade's down-home clutter.
WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT
20th Century Fox
Mediastream IV/Intermedia
Credits:
Director: Donald Petrie
Screenwriter: Tom Schulman
Producers: Tom Schulman, Basil Iwanyk
Executive producers: Rory Rosegarten, David Coatsworth, Moritz Borman, Doug Richardson
Director of photography: Victor Hammer
Production designer: David Chapman
Music: John Debney
Costume designer: Vicki Graef
Editor: Debra Neil-Fisher
Cast:
Monroe Cole: Gene Hackman
Handy Harrison: Ray Romano
Grace Sutherland: Marcia Gay Harden
Sally Mannis: Maura Tierney
Charlotte Cole: Christine Baranski
Bullard: Fred Savage
Bert Langdon: Rip Torn
Irma: June Squibb
Morris: Wayne Robson
Martha: Jackie Richardson
Mandy: Reagan Pasternak
Reuben: Jim Feather
Harve: Ed Fielding
Running time -- 111 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
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