Having gotten his start with the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents movies, Jay Roach turned to politically-themed movies. One example was 2012's "Game Change", about John McCain's hiring of Sarah Palin as his running mate, only to see the Alaska governor make a fool of herself and eventually sink his presidential campaign.The star is Julianne Moore - who won a well deserved Emmy for the role - as Palin, perfectly impersonating the self-proclaimed mama grizzly in all her blithe ignorance and lack of preparation. At one point, she lashes out at the campaign for not letting her be herself; brainless though Palin may have been, she knew that the "real Americans" liked her. McCain (Ed Harris) takes more of a backseat to strategist Steve Schmidt (Woody Harrelson), who slowly but surely realizes that he made a mistake in hiring Palin and not sufficiently vetting her.The movie certainly took me back to 2008. The long campaign, the Russia-Georgia War, Tina Fey's impersonation of Palin on SNL, and finally Barack Obama's victory. With that, millions thought that the US had finally moved beyond its racist past. We never guessed that eight years later we would see the ascension to power of an unhinged demagogue (never mind that Donald Trump didn't win the popular vote). Would that it were 2008 again.Anyway, it's a fine movie. The rest of the cast includes Peter MacNicol (Sophie's Choice), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) and Ron Livingston (Office Space). As for Jay Roach, he also directed "Recount" (about the 2000 election), "The Campaign", "Trumbo" and "All the Way" (about Lyndon Johnson's first year in office).

I have a mind of my own, at least I want to think so, but, I was influenced enough to give Game Change a miss. I was told this was a hatchet job - I must admit that the comments came from Republicans mostly - I finally saw Game Change last night, It literally blew my mind. Hatchet job? What are you talking about? I felt for her, the film humanizes her and somehow explains without partisan hysteria, how we got there, that in a way is to explain how we got here in 2017. Julianne Moore is superb, superb! Not a single false note or cheap shot. I also felt for John McCain, the American hero who told us that Sarah Palin was ready to to be President. The torment in John McCain through Ed Harris's eyes is more eloquent that any line of dialogue. As is Nicolle Wallace, played brilliantly by Sarah Paulson. Her torment is also so real you can touch it. A special mention should go to Woody Harrelson, es Steve Schmidt, extraordinary. Writers, directors and everybody involved deserve oodles of praise. They told us a piece of recent American history about a woman who thought her Vice Presidency was "God's plan"

From the moment I first saw this movie, back when it aired on HBO, I have hailed this as one of the greatest TV movies of all time.Following the campaign trail of John McCain and his crazy running mate Sarah Palin, we are introduced to behind the scenes and it is done remarkably well. Say what you want about the real Palin but this film portrays a pretty accurate film, according to sources.It doesn't bad mouth her per se, it's showing more about how ignorant she was and how she didn't seem to know anything about politics. You may be saying, "Well, then you're a liberal!" and you would be right but this isn't why I liked this film. I liked this film because the writing was spectacular, the acting was so superb that there were times I forgot I was watching Julianne Moore and not the real Palin.Of course this is my opinion about it so check it out for yourself. I think whether Republican or Democrat the film will be well liked around.

The irony of GAME CHANGE is that it reveals more about liberal hypocrisy and the flaws of the feminist elite than it does about the rise and fall of Sarah Palin. What comes across most clearly is not that Sarah Palin was unqualified but that the college-educated women on her own team resented her for class reasons that had nothing to do with political ability. Late in the picture, when Sarah is being criticized, she says something to the effect of, "well, Hillary Clinton does the same thing and no one objects." And then her own female staffer says, "yes, and you're SO MUCH like Hillary." And we're meant to see that as a brilliant put down? Why? Because Sarah Palin's parents weren't rich enough to send her to Wellesley College? Or because she overcame economic and class-based obstacles Hillary never had to face?The real message of the film is not that Republican policies are wrong but that working class people have no business aspiring to high political office -- or even taking an active interest in politics. If this is really what liberals think then they really are corrupt and dishonest beyond Sarah Palin's wildest dreams. But I give GAME CHANGE seven stars because Julianne Moore, Edd Harris, and Woody Harrelson all give superb performances. The real tragedy is that the story didn't focus on John McCain. The writers plainly see him as a Shakespearean tragic hero, a noble man undone by the mob, like Brutus or Coriolanus. In this telling, McCain is a principled aristocrat who only discovers midway through the campaign that his own followers are nothing but racist subhuman scum -- and then he proves his tragic stature by deliberately losing the election on principle. Whether you believe that scenario or not, the fact is that McCain emerges as a much more compelling and sympathetic figure than Sarah Palin. Presumably an Annapolis graduate meets the liberal definition of a "well-born" American eligible for high office. This movie was fascinating and disgusting at the same time. The people who made it are just as bigoted and ignorant as any of the people they attack. Only they don't know it.