At the height of the 2000 election season, CBS anchor Dan Rather exclaimed, “The presidential race is crackling like a hickory fire!” Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) recaptures that blaze in this surprisingly suspenseful HBO docudrama about the thriller in Florida's Palm Beach County. Written by Danny Strong (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Recount bounces between the Sunshine State, Gore's Tennessee headquarters, and Bush's Texas command center, with Gore adviser Ron Klain (producer Kevin Spacey in top form) offering an insider's look at those tense weeks when the American public first encountered obscure terms such as “hanging chad.” Initially, the Democratic candidate pulls ahead, but then falls behind, yet just when Gore is prepared to concede, Klain's colleague Michael Whouley (Denis Leary) spots an anomaly in the vote count. Enter Florida's eccentric Secretary of State, Katherine Harris (Laura Dern), who orders a recount, and former national Secretaries of State Warren Christopher (John Hurt) and James Baker III (Tom Wilkinson), who oversee a process that ultimately leads to the Supreme Court, where David Boies (Ed Begley Jr.) represents Gore. Produced by the late Sydney Pollack, Recount (which garnered a whopping 11 Emmy nominations) skillfully integrates news footage, dramatic recreations, and black comedy, the latter provided by the foul-mouthed Whouley and Bush adviser Ben Ginsberg (Bob Balaban), who still burns with anger over JFK's defeat of Nixon. Highly recommended. (K. Fennessy)
Recount
HBO, 116 min., not rated, DVD: $19.98 Volume 23, Issue 6
Recount
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