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By ROLAND E.
ZWICK
Though fun at times, "Head
of State" is really just a pale imitation of
"Bullworth," with Chris Rock as the "candidate of
the people" who ends up running for President of
the United States. Unlike "Bullworth," however,
this film seems less serious in its intentions,
opting for a junior high-level vision of
presidential politics that robs the film of much
of its satirical purpose and bite.
Rock, who both directed and co-wrote the film
(with Ali Leroi), plays a good-hearted Washington
D.C. alderman named Mays Gilliam who, after its
own candidate is killed in an airplane crash, is
tapped by a major political party (presumably the
Democrats, though it is never actually specified)
to run for office against a popular Vice
Presidential incumbent. As with "The Producers,"
the idea here is to find a candidate who is
guaranteed to lose the election so that the field
will be wide open for a more "likely" winner in
the 2008 election. The naïve, trusting Mays, of
course, doesn't know this and believes he is
actually running to win.
"Head of State" provides a few good laughs, but
the film, as a whole, feels woefully unimaginative
and predictable. Gilliam's brand of touchy-feely
populism sounds as phony and contrived as the hot
air bellowing of his conservative rival. Even
though the film is obviously intended as satire,
we still need to be able to believe that Gilliam
is providing at least a halfway plausible
alternative for the concept to have any real point
or purpose. Instead of tweaking the audience and
making us squirm - as any good satire should - the
movie strokes our ego, allowing us to feel smug
and self-congratulatory as we wallow in our own
moral righteousness. Unfortunately, this is what
tends to happen when satirists operate in a
blatantly commercial venue like this one. With
"Bullworth," Warren Beatty seemed far more willing
to push the envelope and risk the commercial
consequences.
Rock still isn't much of an actor and his skills
as a director could use some honing as well. There
are some funny bits early on in the film, but
after awhile, the premise, since it isn't being
exploited to its utmost effectiveness, simply
burns itself out. "Head of State" is good for a
few hearty chuckles, but for those of us yearning
for some real hard-edged political satire in this
country, it fails to satisfy the craving.
Extras include a commentary track by Rock, a
stills gallery, a making-of featurette and several
deleted scenes. The DVD is available in two
separate version, widescreen and full-screen. |
