How Arnold Won the West

Brit writer-director Alex Cooke takes on the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election in this documentary, which will be amusing for some, alarming for others, and a painful reminder for residents of the Golden State of an embarrassing fiasco. The tale centers, natch, on Arnold Schwarzenegger, now known as the Governator. The former bodybuilder and (sort of) actor took advantage of the extremely brief campaign season to enact a strategy that consisted of revealing little or nothing in the way of actual policies, keeping his distance from the media, glossing over past personal transgressions, praising the wonderful people of “Cull-ee-fonia,” and leveraging his status as (one handler says) “the Beatles of politics”; in the end, it was Ah-nuld's star power and sitting governor Gray Davis' blandness that sealed the deal for the state's supposedly smart and discerning voters. Cooke is no Michael Moore, or even Nick Broomfield (Kurt & Courtney, Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam)--she's neither as pushy nor as insightful as those two--but she does at least have a point of view. Along with ridiculing the parade of losers, jokers, and publicity hounds who took part in the fun (cf. moronic porn star Mary Carey), she makes no secret of her disdain for smarmy Congressman Darrell Issa, who got the whole recall machine in motion and ended up hoist by his own petard (he thought he'd be elected…oops). Nor does Cooke conceal her condescension toward the entire process, with “even by American standards…” being a typical aside. She's right: it was a farce, a spectacle, and a circus--and this is a bitter pill to swallow, especially coming from a Brit (the sceptered isle is no stranger to political spectacle herself; consider Prince Harry's recent party appearance as "The Nazi"). DVD extras include exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, Carey's exotic ad, and an additional half-hour of "oddities." Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Graham)