State of the Union

Rating:
Summary: HEPBURN, SPENCER AND CAPRA, WHAT A GREAT TEAM.
Review: "State Of The Union" is an elegant movie about the politicians world and the media paraphernalia that usually surrounds them. The director Frank Capra combined very well comedy, drama and a smart screenplay, also, Capra always was surrounded with excellent actors, and "State Of The Union" is not an exception.

The couple made by Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy has always been recognized as one of the best couples that appeared in the movies world, "State Of The Union" is another example of the elegance and finesse of these two great actors. Katharine Hepburn gave to her character intelligence, strength and passion, and Spencer Tracy gave another excellent performance as he usually did every time he appeared in a movie.

"State Of The Union" is at the same time an amusing and intelligent movie, it's recommendable for all the fans of Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best political satires ever made!
Review: Since the gentleman before me does such a wonderful job in describing the movie's plot I won't go into that...but I did want to say that "State of the Union" is one of my all-time favorite "classic" movies. This highly underrated Frank Capra film ranks as one the best on-screen pairings of the ever-watchable Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. This film is just as relevant to today's political system as it was to its' own era a half-century ago, which only shows that there has never been a "golden age" of American politics. Tracy is superb in his role as a kind of sane and non-paranoid Ross Perot who hopes to "come from nowhere" and capture the 1948 Republican presidential nomination. Katherine Hepburn,Van Johnson and Adolphe Menjou turn in strong supporting performances, but this film really belongs to a very young (and very attractive) Angela Lansbury, as the ruthless owner of a newspaper publishing empire who will stop at nothing to make Tracy the Republican nominee - even if it means breaking up his marriage. One last bit of trivia - this film is loosely based on the real-life presidential campaign of Wendell Willkie, a young and dynamic New York businessman who really did "come from nowhere" to beat the bosses and win the 1940 Republican presidential nomination. He went on to lose a close race to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the memory of his underdog victory against the "crooked politicians" inspired many Americans for years, including Katherine Hepburn and Frank Capra. So not only is "State of the Union" a great piece of political satire, it's also based on a real historical event - which just goes to show that our political system doesn't always have to run by the "bad guys". "State of the Union" is a superb film - don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Politics Hasn't Changed Much
Review: State of the Union takes a look at all the behind the scenes action that goes into the making a politician, such as the promises, deal making with interest groups, using the family in the campaign, etc. In other words, the same games being played even today in politics. It's the story of a businessman played by Spencer Tracy who gets talked into running for President, and along the way he loses his ideals and begins playing the games, under the familiar but false assumption that he'll just do it until he gets elected. Katharine Hepburn stars as his wife and conscience, a woman who wants him to speak the truth and say what's really on his mind, win or lose. Tracy and especially Hepburn are excellent in their roles, making a lot of dialogue sound fresh and real. Angela Lansbury is cold but convincing as a newspaper syndicate owner who is a behind the scenes player in the political game, pushing Tracy (with whom she's in love) into the presidential race. Van Johnson is a lot of fun as the aide with the dry sense of humour and realistic approach to everything. There's a good mix of laughs with dramatic moments, and surprisingly, the message behind the movie remains very current and rings true, over fifty years after the film was made. It would be interesting to watch this film along with some of the recent films made about politics and the White House.