mengel Reviews

Dick (1999)

I started out skeptical, but it grows on you. Delightful!

[10 January 2000]

I notice that the young seem to like this movie more than the old-timers, which really surprises but also pleases me. I guess my over-50 peers have lost their sense of humor, or prefer to obsess over their stock portfolios and forget that they once cared about politics. I'm a political science professor--and I'd love to show this movie to my classes. It's a wonderful and clever parody on Watergate that should not be missed--especially if you want to know what really happened to those 18 1/2 missing minutes of tape! Relax and enjoy it.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Political hypocrisy

[3/10 · 3 January 1999]

The most dishonest, hypocritical movie ever made. It disguises its right-wing political message by using Gump to cover up its commentary on the 60s--which is profoundly nasty and negative. He is a hero because he can ignore all the social evils around him--is that not a commentary? I understand that the moviemakers denied they were trying to send a message. They lie. I'll take my political propaganda straight, please.

Minstrel Man (1977 TV Movie)

Excellent drama about racial issues

[9/10 · 31 December 1998]

It's too bad this TV movie has gotten lost and is unavailable on video--Maltin used to list it, and called it "outstanding". A touring minstrel company in the early part of the twentieth century is the focus; its experiences are used to dramatize the reality of racial relations in America; it resonates even today. It is honest, funny, and tragic. Somebody reissue it!

Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

A fascinating political fantasy

[8/10 · 31 December 1998]

Anyone with an interest in American history or politics should see this--if you can find it! It's a fantasy about a political hack who is elected president during the Depression, who is transformed by an angel after an auto accident into a national savior--the perfect president, from a 1933 point of view. The result is just a bit scary. The fact that this movie came out during FDR's first few months in office makes it particularly interesting. It reveals a lot about what America was looking for then--and what it may be looking for today.