I saw this back about ten years ago. I liked it then, although not as much as some other political comedies of the period. Now, this one doesn’t hold up nearly as well.
The novelty of the story comes from seeing Warren Beatty playing an awkward white senator, deciding to rap things, as well as speak his mind in a blunt way about political issues. There’s a humor to that. But the movie has a serious problem with indulging in stereotypes. Just about every black person in the movie is a stereotype. There are a few rare moments where they break those molds, but they usually reinforce them.
There is a strong core to the message, mostly about the negative role that money plays in politics. This is fine, but it gets muddied by the focus on his behavior.
This belongs in a family of other political movies - Bob Roberts, Wag the Dog, Primary Colors, all of which use some pretty bleak messages to make a point. I’ve grown out of these movies, in a strange way. I still enjoy them, but I don’t think they’re achieving much. They draw attention to problems, but they don’t actually offer any solutions. If anything, they reinforce how hopeless real political change is.
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