watched in B&B because it was there. OK, lots of stars cast, surprised by that. OK story line, Ray was OK not great. Gene was better. Glad I didn't pay for it but for free...worth it. Wife slept through it but I stayed with it and could make out a reasonable plot. Highly unrealistic but hey, it's movie time.

This was Gene Hackman's last movie role, and Ray Romano's first time on the big screen. Romano was good enough on television with "Everybody Loves Raymond", but he seemed at sea in this movie. Not that the story was anything to write home about.The story involves a just-retired two-term President who travels to the title small town when the current mayor dies in office. The President is divorcing his wife, and has a vacation home in the town which he wants to keep, so he runs for mayor in the special election. Meanwhile, the local hardware store owner played by Romano has his girlfriend ready to leave him, so he runs for mayor to impress her.This movie is not really about politics so much as a romantic comedy. It is at best mildly amusing, and if you want to be amused by Ray Romano, stick to reruns of the "Everybody Loves Raymond" show instead.

Donald Petrie's political comedy is spot-on for me, i mean its not an amazing social commentary or anything, but it provides some good laughs, good performances, decent story and plot. I liked Schulman's wit some of the dialogues were pretty funny and Petrie's direction suited the comedic manner in which this film was intended for. Hackman was very good while Romano was not bad either much better here than Grilled, meanwhile Marcia Gay Harden, Fred Savage and Rip Torn were also pretty good. Overall a decent comedy, solid film, no complaints here, should have a higher overall IMDb rating in my opinion.-- IMDb rating: 5.3, my rating: 8/10

I watched this on SKY the other night and really, really wanted to like it. Unfortunately though it simply killed two hours of my life that I'll never get back. It was 'pleasant' and 'nice' - not two words you associate with a comedy. I smiled occasionally but didn't raise a titter once..! How he needed Frank, Marie, Robert, Deborah and the kids to move to Mooseport with him.I expect better things from Gene Hackman. It must have been an offer too good to turn down and kill some time for him between proper movie roles? The movie was largely forgettable - but not so unmemorable that I won't get tricked into watching it again....