I thought it was terrific piece of entertainment, not least because the actual events were some of the most exciting in my lifetime and because I was born, raised, and still reside in Florida and voted at my customary Santa Rosa County, Florida, polling place in that election.
The filmmakers definitely made Gore (or his camp) the protagonists/most sympathetic characters and simply couldn't restrain themselves from going way over the top on Katherine Harris (she doesn't need that much help to appear vapid and partisan). But there was certainly some effort to be balanced, particularly with regard to the fact that Gore was never interested in recounts in counties where he was likely to have faired poorly by the recovery of additional votes.
The use of actual newsfootage was excellent, helping recreate the sense of "being there" as the whirlwind of new developments seemed to unfold every hour. Kevin Spacey gave a great performance as the lead guy in Gore's campaign (Ron Klain), and there was a nice subordinate storyline about how Klain had gotten the shaft by Gore before the election and again after (by not being offered a cabinet post in the presumptive Gore presidency). This storyline produced a couple of relatively touching personal moments, as did a brief scene where James Baker (also played terrificly by Tom Wilkinson) told of how he wound up switching political parties years before.
Anyway, I think the movie is definitely worth checking out if you want to revisit a landmark piece of recent American political history.
Avellino, where are you? This is your chance to fire away in a thread where politics is actually the story.
So, HBO watchers, what did you think of "Recount"?
1Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"