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November 01, 2007
Jimmy Carter: Man from Hell
Seraphic Friend Dirty Harry really should get combat pay, he actually sat through the entire Jonathan Demme bio-pic Jimmy Carter: Man from the Plains.
Dirty Harry told me there were six other people in the theater.
That's a stunner.
Yup, the film has bombed, hugely. Even liberals haven't bothered to hand over their hard-earned money to watch Carter spout his Jew/Israeli-hatred.
But look, there's always the souk in Gaza, where pirated DVD's will go for about, um, half-a-shekel. I'd like to see the Hollywood unions sit down and negotiate with Hamas for royalties. They can offer, I dunno, Jimmy Carter's land in Georgia in return for a cut of the gross profits.
Over the course of a month, in November of 2006, academy award-winning director Jonathon Demme and a camera crew tagged along with former President Jimmy Carter during a nationwide book tour for his provocatively titled, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. What may have been a quaint documentary about a former President hyping his umpteenth book ended up being a fly-on-the-wall account of a man’s evolution from Worst President Of The 20th Century into an international disgrace.
You would think an in-depth look at a retired President against the backdrop of worldwide controversy couldn’t lose, but under Demme’s heavy hand and desperate desire to salvage his subject through a Chinese water torture of Carter repeating his arguments ad nauseum, the 125-minute Plains feeling like a 60 Minutes segment produced in Hell, and offers no new insight into a man I didn’t know that much about to begin with.
The film’s enemy, besides the duller than dishwater Carter, is repetition, and not just of Carter’s defense of the indefensible. Scene after scene of Demme’s subject walking in and out of hotels, signing books, and having cell phone problems play out like your Uncle Milton and Aunt Minnie’s home movies. The lowlight is watching a television make-up artist put lotion on Carter’s hands. Not one hand, both — and the girl’s thorough. The highlight is a Charlie Rose interview, and when you’ve peaked with PBS, you know you’re in trouble.
To read Dirty Harry's complete review, please click here.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at November 1, 2007 12:47 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Could anyone have seriously thought that this film would be a commercial success?...or that it would even have enough viewers to be a *propaganda* success?
Posted by: david foster at November 1, 2007 04:31 PM
David:
Hollywood is far more concerned about ideology than profits. It's one of the best-kept secrets in Hollywood. Why do you think they keep releasing such dogs like "Rendition" and ""Valley of Elah" and the forthcoming bow-wow "Lions to Lambs."
Current Hollywood suits and filmmakers are closer to Soviet propagandists than the classic American patriotic Hollywood system.
A recipe for fiscal disaster and a joy for our jihadist enemies.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 1, 2007 05:33 PM
God spoke - just the way he did with Al Franken's mockumentary.
Posted by: Jeremiah at November 2, 2007 06:24 AM
Jimma,
Plain, plain man
From the plain, plain Plains,
With a plain, plain sweater,
And a plain, plain brain.
Posted by: kishke at November 2, 2007 07:36 AM
Robert Redford has not aged well.
"Jimmy Carter: Man from Hell". You got that one coming and going. And there aren't many human being who make me angry enough to speak that ill of them..
Posted by: Kent at November 2, 2007 12:05 PM
Jeremiah:
What a great double bill. Lose twice the money in one shot!
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at November 2, 2007 12:12 PM
Kishke:
Little did we know, you're a talmid chacham and a bard:)
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at November 2, 2007 12:13 PM
Kent:
And you're always so, er, mild-mannered.
Well, there is a special place in hell for the Jimmy Carters of this world.
Relax, contempt is entirely appropriate.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at November 2, 2007 12:17 PM
And a limerickist, starting now:
There once was a farmer named James,
Whose sweaters would scare off the dames,
He said, the Jooz are the reason,
They keep their heat above freezin',
And besides, they own all the banks.
I know, I know, dames and banks, but that's the best I can manage. Sorry.
Posted by: kishke at November 2, 2007 01:04 PM
I've got Jimmy on the brain! I've recently been into haiku, via Neil Fleischman's blog. Here's one for Carter:
Man is what he does.
That explains Jimmy Carter.
Soul like a peanut.
Posted by: kishke at November 3, 2007 08:35 PM