Good Night, And Good Luck; Dreamer -- December 2005

NEWSCASTERS AND HORSES

Moe: Hi Joe, you old movie buff you. Seen any good movies lately? Anything you can recommend?


Joe: Well, sure. There are good things out there. Do you want serious, or comic, or family stuff … or what?


Moe: How about something serious?


Joe: OK, if it’s serious you’re after, see Good Night, and Good Luck. It’s about as serious as they come. It’s about Edward R. Murrow’s work on the CBS news program See It Now, back in the 50s when the Army / McCarthy hearings were going on. It’s really a great movie in many ways.


Moe: What’s so great about it?


Joe: Lots of things — it’s in black and white, which is rare these days. It never slows down. Great acting. And it feels real.


Moe: Would the kids like it?


Joe: I doubt it. And there’s another thing — it’s provocative and asks a lot of interesting questions, but I wouldn’t necessarily take it as history. It was directed by George Clooney, and you wonder how likely he is to produce an objective film. Clooney sets Senator McCarthy and his side of the issue up as a straw man …but there was more to the situation than that. Even so, it’s a fascinating movie.


Moe: What do you mean by “straw man”?


Joe: An argument where you make the opposite viewpoint from yours weak and easy to knock down. It’s been fashionable for years to show McCarthy as a buffoon type of villain. McCarthy certainly wasn't a good guy, but this is pretty much of a hatchet job.


Moe: Hmm. OK. What about something that would appeal to the family?


Joe: Try Dreamer. It’s about a race horse that breaks her leg. Everyone wants to put the horse down, but her trainer buys the horse for his 10-year-old daughter. No one thinks the horse will race again, but the daughter has other ideas.


Moe: Sounds kind of predictable, like something I’ve seen before.


Joe: In a way it is; it’s a little like Seabiscuit, and you can pretty much figure out what’s going to happen. It works, though, and it’s really touching. I was tearing up at the end.


Moe: I’ll bet my daughter would like it.


Joe: Yeah, she probably would. Just about everyone in the family would. It’s heartwarming; the good guys do honorable things. The only negative happens when the daughter, who becomes the owner of the horse, says she’s mailed a race entrance fee in when she hasn’t. But overall, it’s worth it.


Moe: What kind of ratings would you give these movies?


Joe: I’d say about 3 ½ stars for Good Night, and Good Luck and about 2 ¾ stars for Dreamer.


Moe: Sounds good. I’ll take the family to Dreamer. Want to see Good Night, Good Luck again?

Film Ratings:
Good Night, And Good Luck: PG
Dreamer: PG