A funny, old-fashioned political farce set in an up-to-the-minute situation. An aggressive woman who heads an organization to "save the children" plans to move Pakistani orphans to Idaho. The governor of that state (Beau Bridges) decides to play to anti-immigrant sentiment by saying he will close the borders against further immigration.The American President (Phil Hartman) is a simpleton who managed by his political adviser (James Coburn). They're only interested in re-election, and are perfectly willing to resort to civil war to make it happen.A CNN-like news organization, "NN", which employs a rainbow of immigrants, and whose announcer is James Earl Jones, plays the potential conflict for all the advertising dollars it's worth.The governor (Beau Bridges) is really much more interested in his affair with a Mexican American reporter for "NN", and she seems to be the only person aware of the irony.

In the near future, a planeload of immigrant orphans are on their way to a charity facility in Idaho when the Governor of the state closes its borders and refuses them entry. This sparks a division of military forces, between states government's National Guard and federal government's Army, each hell bent on protecting their own version of the American Dream, as well as their media images. At the center of this Constitutional storm is a President unable to make a decision without checking with his advisers and referencing one of his predecessors, a Governor more interested in liaisons with his immigrant news reporter mistress than dealing with immigration laws, a newsroom where facts and truth balance with viewer shares, and a TV audience more interested in their favorite daytime soap opera. The Great American Melting Pot is about to uncivilly boil over. This HBO black comedy is an excellent mix of political and news media parody, race relations satire, and morality tale. Wonderfully quirky, and sometimes deeply meaningful, dialogue. Characters run the gamut from dignified to loony. Performances from a large cast are all vibrant and spot on. A movie gem. Favorite Line(s): "Can't make an omelet without busting some sacred eggs. We're making history here and you ain't with us, are you?" "No I'm not." "You should be. Why not?" "Maybe because I'm a reporter, I ain't with anybody. Maybe because too many sacred eggs are getting busted. See, I rode the buses back in the 60s to bring people together. Pretty unfashionable now, isn't it?" "Your wife, she's Jewish, ain't she?" "You know, I forgot what she is, all I remember is that we met on the back of a bus." "I'm trying to remember the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. I said it a million times when I was a kid. Right now I can't seem to remember the words."

This movie was an original film made by HBO and was shown in 1997 and then disappeared. Why? Too many un-PC remarks is my guess. At one point Dan Hedaya (head of the CNN look-alike NetworkNews) yells that somebody needs to get the White House on the phone "unless Tokyo has foreclosed on it!". The story is brilliantly created and the cast is amazing. Look at the cast and ask yourself how this film could just disappear.The mayor of Los Angeles is giving a speech, and the newsroom is frantically looking for a translator. but NOT to translate into Spanish. No, to translate HIS speech into English. I say shame on HBO for letting this film slide into oblivion, You can still find it, used, on VHS but it never went to DVD. You cannot buy it from HBO.You gotta ask yourself why...

Political satires are interesting films, and they can sometimes be especially good. "Wag the Dog," with Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman, is one of the best political satires in decades, and "The Second Civil War," though not nearly as smart as the former, is pretty darn funny in its own right, and -- if you can find it on TV or home video -- you'll probably find yourself smiling at it.I hadn't expected too much sitting down to watch "The Second Civil War." I had never heard of it before, and my TV guide didn't give it an especially favorable review. But it is a surprisingly good TV film."Since when was the country run by a soap opera?" asks US President Phil Hartman in the deliciously dark political satire "The Second Civil War." Star-studded and laugh-packed, the film may seem like mediocre fodder at first, but you'll soon find yourself getting caught up in the mild genius and clever wit of it all. Yes, the film is a public TV production, but that does not reflect its position as a film.The plot: Orphans from Pakistan are being immigrated to Idaho, but the Governor of Idaho doesn't like this idea one little bit, so he closes the border of Idaho and refuses to permit any Pakistanis into his state. This causes problems, of course, and immediately news and media from around the world start to monitor the entire situation in anticipation of something dreadful to happen.The US President, played by Phil Hartman, likes Dwight D. Eisenhower, but lacks the smarts to be President -- he covers behind the image of an all together man and quotes Eisenhower in speeches. He shifts his nationwide announcements so that they do not interfere with soap operas. His advisor reminds him that women got mad last time he did that.Idaho threatens to separate from the United States of America, and "The Second Civil War" is essentially a satire of the political scene and the newspeople surrounding it. "Boys, it looks like Idaho is going to war," says news anchorman Denis Leary. "I smell another emmy."Anticipating Idaho's separation from the USA, the President and his staff make a last ditch effort to save their country by placing the Pakistanis in the middle of the battle. But this only makes matters worse.Dennis Leary ("The Ref") is funny, but other great actors include Dan Hedaya ("The Addams Family"), Beau Bridges, James Earl Jones and James Coburn, to name a few of the A-list cast members. They all play pivotal roles in the plot, and when the film gets them in lengthy word fights it is at its best.To top it all off, the film is directed by Joe Dante, who has brought Gremlins and werewolfs to life in the past. Dante is great at making imaginations come to life -- his kiddy action film "Small Soldiers" was even fun to sit through. Like Robert Zemeckis, Dante uses film as a medium for wit and imagination. He's made some great films. Here is another one.4/5 stars.John Ulmer