Movie Reviews for State of the Union

State of the Union

	List Price: ~~$14.98~~ Our Price: $7.19 You Save: $7.79 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.98 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases

Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada

Movie Reviews of State of the Union

Movie Review: State of the Union DVD
Summary: 4 Stars

Not my favorite Capra movie OR Tracy and Hepburn movie, but well worth watching because of the wonderful pairing of actors and director! Tracy and Hepburn are a magical pair no matter what movie they are in, and Frank Capra always has a happy ending even for difficult situations. This movie almost seems like a role reversal to Tracy and Hepburn's movie "Woman of the Year". Angela Lansbury did a wonderful job in the movie also.

Movie Review: Tracey-Hepburn Keeper
Summary: 4 Stars

Though a little dated this is definately a keeper for Tracey-Hepburn fans. Not as well known as many other of their films, their chemistry is still great and the political commentary is timeless.

Movie Review: Tracy and Hepburn Wade Through Capra-Corn as Lansbury Sharpens Her Talons
Summary: 3 Stars

This somewhat forgotten 1948 dramedy is not the undiscovered gem of the Tracy-Hepburn pairings, but the 2006 DVD provides an opportunity to take a look at the political corruption running rampant in Washington at the time, clearly as prescient now as it was relevant then. The subject is well suited to filmmaking legend Frank Capra, who made the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington a decade earlier and echoes a similar theme of an honest man surrounded by those who tear at his ethics. Adapted by Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly from a play by Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay, the plot centers on Grant Matthews, a pulled-from-his-bootstraps industrialist who has not lost touch with the common folks, a quality seized upon by Machiavellian newspaper publisher Kay Thorndyke, who uses her considerable media power to shape him into a viable candidate for the presidency.

Thorndyke also happens to be Matthews' lover, even though he is still married to stoic, disillusioned Mary, his estranged wife who has remained in the marriage not only for the sake of their two children but also in the dimming hope that he will come back to her. Initially, Matthews balks at the idea of becoming President, but he recognizes an ambition to improve the country. At the same time, Thorndyke and her cohort, proto-Karl Rove political advisor Jim Conover convince him to make compromising speeches to win the votes of powerful lobbies. If you know Capra films, you know how it will all turn out. The main problem I had with the film is the pacing and the relative inconsistency in tone. Much of the time, it feels truncated with little transition between scenes, and farcical moments are mixed with more serious ones in ways that make the film feel emotionally askew at times.

The performances can't be faulted. Spencer Tracy is well cast as the plainspoken Matthews, while Katharine Hepburn lends her much-needed verve and snap to the cautiously hopeful Mary. All of 22 but looking far more commanding and mature, Angela Lansbury almost steals the picture as Kay, even though her character is so venal and humorless that it is hard not to hiss when she's onscreen, especially with her dragon-lady cigarette holder. It's easy to see the future Mrs. Iselin in John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate. Adolphe Menjou plays Conover in his typical blowhard manner, while Van Johnson is unctuous in a likeable sort of way as reporter Spike McManus. Capra lays out his familiar flag-waving cornpone thickly here, sometimes quite effectively, but the attempts at slapstick humor are pretty laborious. This remains an interesting curio in his canon. The DVD provides a fairly clean print but has absolutely no extras, not even chapter stops.

Movie Review: Enjoyable satire relevant even today!
Summary: 3 Stars

Strength of this movie is that even though it cannot be Mr. Capra's best work, it is a highly entertaining satire. Not just by Tracy and Hepburn's charm, but by the script as well. It speaks of issues which are still relevant today. Tracy's comments on capitalism etc. can make some people happy even today while may invite wrath of others, again even today! One may say, Tracy was not bi-partisan even before nomination!

However, the script deals the nomination process in a too simplistic way to brush the people involved in black and white! The film correctly says that 'people may like you, but its the politicians who send nomination'. However the nomination process is bound to become extremely complex with so many interests, from so many people - with varying ideas - involved in, often crossing the paths of one another, which may necessitate difficult maneuvering while at the same time keeping the electorate happy and opposition at bay. The film depicts it in rather simple and overt manner. Here it reminds the final scene of 'Mr. Smith Goes To Washington'. Also, that a single young lady owning a newspaper can pull so many strings of a national political party - in any age - in difficult to believe. The way Tracy changed his stance just after a brief side-room meeting with the lady publisher is probably the weakest point of the movie. Equally jarring is his return to his own self, influenced by his wife, brilliantly played by Hepburn. I will put a 3.5 rating on this one.