NotAnotherMovieCritic From the moment I first saw this movie, back when it aired on HBO, I have hailed this as one of the greatest TV movies of all time.Following the campaign trail of John McCain and his crazy running mate Sarah Palin, we are introduced to behind the scenes and it is done remarkably well. Say what you want about the real Palin but this film portrays a pretty accurate film, according to sources.It doesn't bad mouth her per se, it's showing more about how ignorant she was and how she didn't seem to know anything about politics. You may be saying, "Well, then you're a liberal!" and you would be right but this isn't why I liked this film. I liked this film because the writing was spectacular, the acting was so superb that there were times I forgot I was watching Julianne Moore and not the real Palin.Of course this is my opinion about it so check it out for yourself. I think whether Republican or Democrat the film will be well liked around.

GeoPierpont Sorry folks but whoever McCain picked would have been led through the muck and mud regardless of gender, race, religion, or background. Look what they did to Kerry. Not a SINGLE mention of how the 5-1 spending margin between the two candidates MAY have had an effect on MSM portrayal and ultimate character assassination.Makes me feel major empathy for putting a human being through this to win a campaign. However, slime filth ridden politics are the norm. Hopefully more Americans are coming to see the light and refuse to accept the prevalence of avarice, lies and corruption.Stop watching MSM and crack a freakin' book! Widen your resources and take the time to actually read vs robot repeat of sound bites and headlines. Help move this country forward and relieve the corporate ties that gag our constitution and bill of rights.

zetes HBO is perhaps the king of the television series - you have to pay every month just to get a glimpse of him - their TV movies are pretty mediocre, usually. They can indeed be entertaining. Game Change depicts the Vice Presidential bid of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. I myself really hated Sarah Palin with a passion that's probably bordering on the ridiculous (though one should know that I live probably 20 miles away from Palin's best bud and even eviler twin Michelle Bachmann, who still holds political power), so this movie was kind of a bit of wonderful schadenfreude for me. I quite enjoyed reliving all those wonderful Sarah Palin moments, as well as getting a nice dollop of behind-the-scenes drama (and I have no idea how truthful any of that information is). Julianne Moore is quite good with her Palin imitation, Ed Harris is funny as McCain's (kind-of) lookalike. Woody Harrelson plays Steve Schmidt, the McCain adviser who discovers and brings on Palin, and with horror realizes that his vetting process was quite crappy.

Robert W. Make no mistake, Game Change is about Sarah Palin period. Most of the things you read about it will say it chronicles John McCain's 2008 Presidential bid from choosing Palin as his running mate to their eventual defeat. This is true to a certain degree but the focus of the film, the entire purpose is to chronicle Sarah Palin, and they do so absolutely brilliantly thanks to an incredible starring performance and a very well written intelligent script. The film is often riveting and very well put together. The pacing is perfect and perhaps one of the smartest things about the film is that it is mainstreamed so that absolutely anyone can understand it, follow it, appreciate it, and be entertained but still find a deeper understanding of both Palin and McCain. I'm a democrat to the core (which is not up for debate and doesn't matter at all), but watching Game Change gave me a whole new opinion, and vision of both of the lead characters. The film does not trash Palin or McCain, and in fact gives, what I believe, is an unbiased, fair and solid vision of the race and the people involved.I've never been really impressed with Julianne Moore though she's had some good roles. So in my opinion this was literally and hands down the best role of Moore's career. She doesn't just become Palin, she shows this woman's chemistry, charisma, brilliance, downfalls, shortcomings, quirks, personality...she brings her to life. Obviously Palin fans won't necessarily like the negative sides of her personality but Moore plays her with such empathy and power. I never understood Palin's draw that she had until I watched this movie. She was an every woman, she was America's mom and you see all this in the film. One of the only downsides to this movie was I could have watched Ed Harris play John McCain in an entire film on his own. He is brilliant. I don't like the constant barrage of cursing the he does (was this really a John McCain quirk?) but that's not Harris' performance but rather the script. He gives a powerhouse performance and commands the screen every time he is on it which isn't enough. Woody Harrelson gives a subtle and yet powerful performance as campaign manager Steve Schmidt. I actually his performance is slightly toned down to not overpower that of Harris and Moore. He still is one to watch with his emotions and facial intensity. The supporting cast is a virtual whose who of Television and movie actors. A few of the more stand out performances are given by Peter MacNicol, Sarah Paulson, and Ron Livingston.Part of the brilliance of the film is how to incorporates live footage in with the actors. The scenes where Moore as Palin debates with Joe Biden, splicing together actual footage of him was brilliantly done. Clearly director Jay Roach knows his way around the political game having previously done Recount and even using his knowledge as a comedic film maker and a political know how to make The Campaign (a surprisingly hilarious and completely unbiased look at the election process.) I understand John McCain has personally spoke out against Game Change calling it false and essentially garbage but I don't think the film is negative in any way. I think it is showing the ins and outs, the mistakes and the successes of their campaign. I am certain that a similar film could be made about Obama's campaign only with a different outcome. The film is really well made despite the grievous error (in my opinion) of having so much bad language jammed in there for no reason. The musical montage with Palin getting dressed is almost a step into too mainstream waters but these tiny little missteps aside, this is one great political film thanks to a smart script and two powerful lead performances well deserving of their Golden Globe Nominations. 8.5/10