Movie Review:The Party's Over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnzUd5sEnUc

Major Points:
Political parties in America are similar in that they are rule for the most part by major lobbies
Political parties in America are virtually saying the same things and that the other party is wrong
An under current is was forming even in 2000 of unrest
The American political system is broken


Major Agreements
Political parties in America are similar in that they are rule for the most part by major lobbies
Political parties in America are virtually saying the same things and that the other party is wrong
An under current was forming even in 2000 of unrest

Major Agreements:
The American political system is broken

My thoughts:
While THE PARTY'S OVER has not received the best reviews, I feel that the major points on the movie are spot on and concise with what many Americans are saying today in addition to what many Americans said in 2000.  It has context, a relatively unbiased opinion and shows what could be considered a birth to the OWS movement. 

Phillip Seymour Hoffman makes a documentary that is equally critical of both political parties and focuses on major lobbies that influence both parties.  He attended both nominating conventions, in addition to the Green Party convention, being received at all three equally unwelcomed.  The documentary has been gigged for lacking central point and wondering from place to place, but I see this a positive rather than a contraction.  Hoffman skips around, pulling various points of view, but no more frequently than Documentarian Michael Moore, though Moore is praised for his ability to tie a central narrative together almost from outer space.

In a side by side comparison between Moore's documentaries such as CAPITALISM: A LOVE AFFAIR, or even BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE I would take THE PARTY'S OVER any day as far objectivity and points made.  Hoffman provides a much more palatable spin of the failures of Democracy, political parties, and the political process than Moore, whom I consider a raving lunatic that fains objectivity and unbiased reporting.  (My bias shows)

Hoffman does start out the film, much like Moore does many of his but as it progresses it develops it's own mind and never paints any of the caste of characters in a negative light.

Insofar as the points Hoffman makes, I could not agree more! America's political parties are remarkably similar.  They are both owned by big lobbies, and they certainly do forget the common person.  Hoffman addresses the major issues of the political parties (gun control, illegal drugs, capitol punishment, and education) but directly points to the major lobby brokers that influence the party leadership.  I could not agree more with the overriding points made by this film and I would recommend it to anyone who cannot  stomach Michael Moore's endless ravings.

The one clear objection that Hoffman makes, and it is a sutble one, is that the American political system is broken. Throughout the documentary, Hoffman shows protesters in American streets protesting various events such as the WTO and the recounting of votes after the election.  Perhaps this is flavored by my one objection of the OWS movment, but it seems a constant hum of people pointing out that the American system is broken.  I believe that the American system is not broken simply because you say it is broken.  It is not unbroken simply because I say so either.  Many people, on both sides, who point out the faults of Democracy and America tend to focus solely on the problems and not the postives.  In addition to this "woe is me" attitude, they never seem to offer solutions.  I say, "Show me solutions, show me solutions you are willing to work for, then go work for them."  There is a culture in today's youth that is it easier to get cracked in the head or pepper sprayed than it is to vote, donate time/money, or actually vote.  So, do I agree with the subtle hints in Hoffman's film that America is broken? No