Word: hoffman
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...Staff writer Ella A. Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@fas.harvard.edu...
...When Hoffman questions attendees of both conventions as to why they support the respective candidates, he succeeds in showing how many Americans are just as ill-informed as he; on both sides of the fence, smiling ladies and gentlemen scream, “He stands for education, morality, and American values!!” as if trying to compensate for lack of knowledge with volume. Indeed, it is only The Shadow Convention, the little publicized Green Party gathering hosted by Bill Maher, which Hoffman portrays as conveying any truth. In the wake of the patriotic assault at the major parties?...
Thus begins the thread of Green sympathy which seems to take the unassuming Hoffman by surprise and, by the documentary’s end, becomes clear as part of what is arguably Leitch’s unstated agenda. Watching Hoffman’s face during his frequent interviews with celebrities and less frequent interviews with congressmen becomes a show in itself; to measure by the expressions of adoration he gives these stars, one would never guess Hoffman was an established actor with intelligent roles under his belt. He gapes in agreement as Susan Sarandon reveals that “seeing...
Despite the attention Hoffman gives to outspoken Hollywood faces, it’s the passing comments in The Last Party which make the greatest impact. Newt Gingrich’s straight-faced, calm statement of no objection to political protest remains in memory longer than Hoffman’s headachingly long documentation of the Florida voting scandal. Leitch treats Gingrich’s comment as emblematic of a politician who understands the political system and, without resigning himself to views not his own, faces up to the reality of what some voters need to hear. On the other hand, Massachusetts...
...Leitch’s direction and Hoffman’s naïve approach, too many audience members will leave The Last Party weary of the U.S. political system and, like Hoffman, still averse to a political system they don’t, or maybe refuse to, understand. If the filmmakers wish to mobilize viewers at all, it’s Frank’s comment which should ring truest; that, in a country where politics will in the near future remain a workable system, the responsibility for voter apathy lies with the people themselves...