Why does Hollywood hire the best cast, crew and direction, use a perfectly good political plot borrowed from the UK and then proceed to pander it to unsuspecting viewers by dumbing it down completely.The "script" in the US version is full of plot-holes that frustrated this viewer: once you know who the assassin is connected to (red herrings abound) it makes even less sense. The contrived affair between Afflecks' wife, played by Robin Wright, rang completely false. The original series had her as a scheming and vengeful spurned wife. And the crusty disheveled old reporter buying the hot cub reporter a necklace of pens? Oh please. Helen Mirren walked on and off screaming Britishly as demanded.No tensions whatsover, Justin Bateman as a sleazy PR guy shone.Disappointing. But interesting to see the Washington Post inner workings.3/10

Every time I figured Kevin Macdonald's State of Play was going to descend into cliché and corn, somebody on screen did something I didn't expect. The whole premise of the movie, its "high concept," is a cliché, but Macdonald decides he's going to make something more than a dreary veteran-and-cub-reporters-crack-the-big-government-corruption-case movie. Even if the viewer is predisposed to dislike a journalism movie--the way my wife despises courtroom dramas and we both cringe at jailhouse suspensers--he or she is going to find the characters, for the most part, engaging, or, at least, comfortably recognizable. Three things that caught my eye, besides the plot twists that kept me interested: Supporting characters Helen Mirren and Jeff Daniels underplay their roles, although Mirren's character spends a good deal of the movie snapping and fuming at Russell Crowe and Rachel MacAdams, and Daniels is very believable as a Congressional leader who doesn't have all the evil moves you come to expect in movies.The second grace in State of Play is how little Macdonald uses Ben Affleck. He's a critical part of the story, but Affleck also underplays the part of a corrupt, trapped US representative. He has his moments of being dramatic, but there wasn't a bit of scenery getting chewed when he's confronted with his bad behavior. Finally, in a political thriller like this, made by our friends in Hollywood--who never seem to pass up a chance to be hopelessly partisan in their quest for creating a Workerz Paradise--have made it subtly clear that Affleck and Daniels are--Egads!--Democrats. They're slimy and corrupt and phoney as all get out, but they aren't eeevil Republicans!A movie that is founded on a tried-and-true cliché, plot twists that take the viewer by surprise, characters that don't consume the sets the way my Chihuahua wolfs down cat food, and some freaking originality in saying that corrupt politicians can be liberals? Sheesh, what's the world coming to?

Best part of the movie are the credits, showing a large city newspaper being published (the Washington Post disguised as the Washington Globe; sort of like "All the King's Men", without the kings and without the men).The story is muddled. The "surprise" twists are difficult to track, and seem very contrived. Too many "deep throats."The Congressman is arrested, for causing his mistress to be killed by his psycho military buddy, who also kills a briefcase thief and a pizza delivery man on a bicycle. Who also tries...twice...to kill reporter Russell Crowe, but fails. In fact, Psycho Ops guy has to make a second attempt to kill the pizza delivery man, in a hospital room. Now, there is a disservice to the vaunted killing skills of a Special Ops guy!Ben Affleck, as the Congressman, is more sympathetic than Russell Crowe, the reporter. At least, he seems conflicted and sheds a tear when he hears his mistress was killed. Did he or did he not order his mistress killed? Not clear, but any decent DC lawyer should be able to get his case dismissed for lack of evidence. When near the end the Psycho Ops guy talks on his cell phone to announce, "he'll finish the job," is he talking to Affleck or to the majority whip? That could be determined, not from the cell phones he tosses down the garbage disposal, but from the cell carrier under subpoena by the cops. Alas, not in this movie.Regardless, Russell Crowe just nails his best friend, without remorse. His expository article is not even honest. He writes that Psycho Ops guy is found dead in his apartment with a self-inflicted bullet wound, but only seconds earlier we see him killed in the street by the cops.The paper announces the arrest of Ben Affleck. The CeO of the evil corporation (Blackwater?) resigns....but is he arrested and charged? At this point, who cares about any of this? A final puzzle; Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck both have a large pimple on their face. Is that meaningful? Who knows. Like the entire plot, who cares?

State of Play starts out as a mystery. The main character, Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), is a reporter for the Washington Globe. For years he has been friends with Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), a politician who is making his mark in D.C. by serving on a committee that is investigating the Department of Defense regarding the way they hand out contracts.When one of the congressman's staffers is killed in a subway accident, that story casts a shadow over the politician, leading--in a domino effect--to repercussions on his activities, the congressional investigation, his marriage, and his relationship with McAffrey.As McAffrey is drawn into the story, he must analyze his relationship with Collins and his wife. Accompanied by cub reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), he is drawn deeper into the mystery as murders occur and deadlines impend.The film's very real story gains further authenticity by the fact that 1/3 of the film was shot in D.C. The newspaper set built in California is amazing. All of the actors performed well. Watch for Jason Bateman as a sleazy guy who helps connect the dots, and Helen Mirren as the tough, pragmatic newspaper chief.In the end, dollars drive this drama. It's a cautionary tale for all Americans who see greed driving the government, with corruption a necessary consequence.