Recount
September 2008 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Chad, hanging chad, dimpled chad: This is terminology with which we Americans are now all familiar. But before 2000, you might as well be talking Klingon if you used these words. It was the turn-of-the-century presidential election in Florida that made them stick in our minds, and for many us in our craws.

Florida was the deciding factor in a race between George W. Bush and Al Gore that had been neck and neck. The first return in Florida made it seem that Gore was winning, and the media (God bless ‘em for being up to date, if not accurate) reported a Gore win. This had to be retracted minutes later when Bush came out ahead. Tempers, hopes, and fears were running high. Gore had won the popular vote, after all, and many Americans felt that was enough. Why should the electoral vote decide? But decide it does.

Though Gore had conceded, certain improprieties in the voting process came to light and recounts were requested. You know the rest. After over a month of tug of war back and forth, Bush still won.

It is timely of HBO to release this made-for-TV movie on DVD at this time. For one, it is nominated for a passel of Emmy Awards, the winners of which will be announced in mid-September. Second, we are facing another election that could be very close, and many say the voting machinery is still not up to par. Pundits praise our system of election but not its implementation. The movie purportedly (and as far as I can tell) sticks to facts, though Ben Ginsberg in a discussion with Bob Balaban, who played him, notes that the viewer gets all the information in an as-it-happened timeline, whereas the people locked into the real situation did not.

The movie plays like a suspense thriller, an amazing feat, since we all know the outcome. The pacing is crisp, and the cast is very strong, without a weak link. But though everyone is good, and Spacey, Leary, and Balaban have been nominated for Emmys, Laura Dern is the standout as Katherine Harris, then Florida’s Secretary of State. When she appeared in her Tammy Faye Baker School of makeup on national TV, we all laughed. Dern plays her over the top, but she also gets across that Harris was maybe just a nice Southern girl who related to Queen Esther in the Bible. Knowing she was in way over her head, she seized the opportunity as a way to become famous and steamed full speed ahead. Damn the critics and advisors. Dern is also nominated for an Emmy, and I think she should win.

Except in its very top weekly shows, HBO’s video quality seems to have sagged in the past year, but the picture for this movie brings its rating back up again. There’s good, bright color here, excellent contrast, and very good definition. Due to the nature of the movie, the sound favors the dialogue up front, but that’s just fine as you won’t want to miss a word.

Extras include the aforementioned discussion between Ginsberg and Balaban; there is also a similar one between Ron Klain and Kevin Spacey, who stars as him in the movie. In addition, there’s the usual production featurette, perhaps more intelligent than the norm, and a very informative commentary with director Jay Roach, also nominated for an Emmy, as is the movie itself. And if you are still in doubt about chad, handing chad, and dimpled chad, the movie shows them all with clarity.

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