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Kevin Spacey stars in HBO election drama 'Recount'

Verne Gay | Off Camera

May 23, 2008

RECOUNT. Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Reason to watch: The small screen's first fictionalized take on the Florida 2000 recount, with an all-star cast that includes Kevin Spacey, John Hurt, Laura Dern, Tom Wilkinson, Denis Leary.

What it's about: An early screen shot is of a woman of late middle age, presumably Jewish (she's got a Star of David pendant dangling). She's studying where she punched her vote, and you can easily read her mind: Did I vote for Al Gore or, heaven help me, Pat Buchanan? Then on to the night of Nov. 7, 2000, with the networks' call of the election for Gore, then for George W. Bush, then cut to Gore, en route to his concession speech, and then, the dramatic reversal. From here, "Recount" toggles between the campaigns - let's call them "armed camps" - of Bush and Gore, with the stakes (and drama) mounting, as a hurricane of detail (did you know the plural of chad is "chad"?) and legalese blows over the election night mess and into the next 36 days.

Spacey plays Ron Klain, the brilliant Gore aide who has to be persuaded by profane get-out-the-vote specialist Michael Whouley (Leary) to fight for a recount. Meanwhile, over in Bush territory, former Secretary of State Jim Baker (Wilkinson) joins the fight, and is effectively aided by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Dern), who, in turn, has a Svengali-like figure whispering in her ear, Florida GOP consultant Mac Stipanovich (Bruce McGill). This all ends up in the U.S. Supreme Court, and, well, you know who wins.

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The bottom line: A watchable and skillfully made telefilm ( Jay Roach of "Austin Powers" fame directed) that is, nonetheless, marred by a melodramatic reliance on Good vs. Evil, and guess which side is which? "Recount" displays such a profound contempt for the Bush camp that the characters ultimately morph into cartoon characters - only this time, Wiley E. Coyote and Plankton triumph! Dern's Harris is a vainglorious dingbat who hasn't got a single thought in her pretty little head. McGill's Stipanovich is Lady Macbeth - in reverse drag. Baker's a turncoat without conviction or moral bearing. Klain? A good man wronged by malicious forces beyond his control. And so on. Meanwhile, virtually no sign of Bush or Gore. The most important - arguably, the most interesting - characters are AWOL.