Loved it when it was first released, but now (2004) it seems amazing just how prophetic it was. The effects of overwhelming immigration into the U.S., and the hopeless ineptitude of the government, are themes that are more and more apparent as the years go by.Topical comedy usually has a short life, seen a few years later it often loses its comic impact, but this one hasn't lost a thing when seen today. It has the rare quality of being both comic and profoundly serious.Like most people, I only have a few that I can give a "10", but this is one of the few.

I noticed that a viewer thought this film was far better than WAG THE DOG. Might I disagree? This film is in many ways not on the same level as WTD. That film had acting, subtlety (despite its outrageousness), wit and brains. This film has neither. It's a stupid stupid (not to mention racist)thing that goes over-the-top too often. Way too often and waaaaaay over it. And it simply hasn't got the actors too for this sort of things. WAG THE DOG had De Niro and Hoffman (among others), this film's only virtues are James Coburn and Denis Leary (though the latter's part is seriously under-written, as are all parts actually). All of the others simply don't fit in. Perlman, Hedaya, Beau Bridges, Elizabeth Peña, ... none of them make sense in his/her part. And as far as the story goes... Well, if you're looking for subtlety, look somewhere else, because this one makes sure that you're not only not caring about the characters, but also that all of its attempts at black comedy or satire fall short(it had one good thing though, but I can't remember it)and that none of the events depicted seem believable. yes, it tries to give th e film a sense of reality by making the governor look like President Clinton, the president a dim-witted puppet and the head of News Net a sensationalistic b***ard, but all what it's trying to say sounds hollow and, yes, racist. See, for a film like this you need a careful handling of the subject. This film goes for cheap shots and smashes all of its messages without realizing it. A bad job for director Joe Dante, who really is more at home at the comedy-horror genre than at this political satire stuff. How to succeed in saying nothing at all. 4/10 (maximum)

Phil Hartman is hilarious as the inept and waffling President, and Beau Bridges convincing as the Governor of Idaho, in this movie where mistakes and misread news pile up until a seemingly innocuous situation becomes a second civil war.Phil Hartman brings some of the sarcastic wit from Newsradio into this telemovie. Some of the funniest moments are when he is actually debating with himself or others over what actions to take. Meanwhile the movie slowly progresses along the lines where not only is war imminent in the country, but war seems to be erupting everywhere between people - Congressmen, newsmen, et al...Quite an engaging movie and the ending is one you would not want to miss as well, if just for that few seconds of riotous and comical misunderstanding.

"The Second American Civil War" appeared in the cinemas in Italy and caused many discussions probably because of the correspondences between its plot and the matter of secession in Northern Italy promoted by the Lega Nord party. Anyway, this movie is great for other reasons and deserved to be seen in the cinemas of any country. The only lack of the movie is the weakness of the characters such as the pathetic figure of the old wise journalist (James Earl Jones). However the real main character is the background, that is the society, the medias and the political class. Dante strikes all these categories with a brilliant and grotesque satire and represent all their contradictions.The influential News Net spread idiotic and mediocre message. The politicians only care about keeping their careers with the political tricks (the ultimatum mustn't interfere with the popular soap-opera). Finally Dante paints a society that can't find an alternative between "We are all brothers" and "This is my land and here I command".You MUST SEE it, if you have the chance because it is far the best movies of is genre (much better than "Wag the Dog")