The Second Civil War (1997)

What happens when Governor Farley of Idaho (Beau Bridges) decides to close his state borders rather than allow a planeload of immigrant orphans to make it their home? The answer is hilarious frightening scandalous- and may well be the start of THE SECOND CIVIL WAR. In this outrageous comedy a nation watches - on TV- while President (Phil Hartman) turns to his advisors including lobbyist Jack Buchan (James Cohurn) for advice. As the crisis escalates it all depends on the Governor of Idaho. Will he be open to peaceful negotiations? Not before he's negotiated his way back into the bedroom of the businesslike NewsNet reporter Christina Fernandez (Elizabeth Pena) with whom he is having a stormy affair. NewsNet is covering the tension at the Idaho state border as armed forces move in either side. Will the Governor give way to his immigrant love or anti-immigration war? Either way it looks like there'll be nothing civil about THE SECOND CIVIL WAR.Running Time: 98 min.System Requirements:Running Time 96 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 026359138829 Product Description

Funny yet disturbingly realistic look at our future.

A funny, yet all to realistic look at America's immigration policy debacle. With the country over run by millions of recent immigrants, many of which whom can't speak english, the nation heads for an uncertain future. Leading the counter charge against mass immigration is a state governor whose attention is not on the nations problem, but instead on his estranged hispanic reporter mistress. May 13, 2007

Unbelievable HBO Movie!!!

Starts off funny, moves to hilarious and end up very disturbing. An incredible stellar cast. Made in 1997 and for a number of years HBO has pretended it never heard of this film and it is not for sale (today) in the HBO store. It was once sold for a very short time on laser disk and vhs. Then it was pulled and denied. Suddenly it has surfaced on dvd. I figure I'd grab a copy on dvd before it disappears again.

Excellent movie - well crafted and definitely not 'politically correct'. April 30, 2006

Smart sharp political satire

HBO films comes through again with this biting farce on the melting pot that is America. In the "near future", the governor of Idaho (Beau Bridges), a right winger if ever there was one, closes the state borders to prevent a few busloads of orphaned Pakistani children from settling in his home state. Soon the President (Phil Hartman in one of his few effective screen roles) consults with his spin doctor (James Coburn) to decide what to do. Meanwhile, the Idaho governor is carrying on a torrid affair with a beautiful news reporter from NewsNet, which is reporting all this. NewsNet is the home of news director Dan Hedaya, anchorwoman Joanna Cassidy, veteran reporter James Earl Jones, wiseass reporter Denis Leary, and hotshot camerman Dick Miller (yes, the GREAT Dick Miller of Buckets of Blood fame), as well as news executive Roger Corman (gee, how did HE get in there?).

Well, I'll tell you how he got in there. The film is directed by Joe Dante, and Dante got his start working for Corman's New World Cinema. So he returned the favor and cast Corman in this film. Surrounding the president, aside from Coburn, are advisers and/or secretaries of state and defense William Schallert and Kevin McCarthy (yes, of Invasion of the Body Snatchers).

Of course the irony of the reporter with whom the Idaho gov is having an affair being Mexican-American (Elizabeth Pens) is part of the gallows humor glee on display. JE Jones provides the voice of heart and conscience for the proceedings, and in fact, it's his voice that ends this tragicomedy. And make no mistake, tragicomedy it is. Not, mind you, in the tradition of Shakespeare and/or the like, but nevertheless, well done anyway.

There's a great back and forth between Jerry Hardin as the military leader of the National Guardsmen defending the Idaho border, and Brian Keith as the US Amry general sent in to fight the state National Guard and get those kids into Idaho by any means necessary.

The script is sharp and biting and ultimately, tragedy does ensue. But getting there is a lot of fun; you wait to see what witty slashing lines will crop up next. Dante does a good job of carrying the ball and running with it here; as of 1997, when this was made, you can tell he's still got it.

OK, this is not a great film. But the political satire is trenchant--especially, for example, when the governor of Rhode Island, a Chinese-American man, complains about thousands of Chinese landing in his home state. He decides not to let anymore Chinese into RI. So much for the unity of a people.

Much better than you might expect, this actually works well. A tightly scripted, well done piece of work. March 11, 2006

Reality as a satire

Public relations should not control a country. Lobbyists should not control a country. Stupid people should not control a country. Joe Dante should make more films. "The Second Civil War" is the most poignant political satire of the nineties, and is a shame that has dissapeared from public scrutiny (no conspiracy theories here!). If some plot points on the film seem to predict facts that happened after 1997, it is because the basis for those occurrences were widely known from before. Basically, Dante says that letting politicians, bussinessman and the media to run things based in petty interests could bring to a turning point in which bad decisions produce catastrophes. Not-so-subtle points about immigrants (white americans) telling other immigrants (non-white americans) what they can do with their asses are a central part of the text, and show to us that the defense of some supposed "American Culture" that doesn't exist is only a ploy to reach other objectives. The film is also very appropiate for the Israel were I live, at only two weeks from the historic disengagement from the Gaza strip. With a cast and a director like that, not many things can go wrong. The only thing not right with this film is that not many people has seen it. July 31, 2005

Welcome to the Human Race.

In the near future, a planeload of immigrant orphans are on their way to a charity facility in Idaho when the Governor of the state closes its borders and refuses them entry. This sparks a division of military forces, between states government's National Guard and federal government's Army, each hell bent on protecting their own version of the American Dream, as well as their media images. At the center of this Constitutional storm is a President unable to make a decision without checking with his advisors and referencing one of his predecessors, a Governor more interested in liasons with his immigrant news reporter mistress than dealing with immigration laws, a newsroom where facts and truth balance with viewer shares, and a TV audience more interested in their favorite daytime soap opera. The Great American Melting Pot is about to uncivilly boil over.

This HBO black comedy is an excellent mix of political and news media parody, race relations satire, and morality tale. Wonderfully quirky, and sometimes deeply meaningful, dialogue. Characters run the gamut from dignified to loony. Performances from a large cast are all vibrant and spot on. A movie gem.

Favorite Line(s): "Can't make an omelet without busting some sacred eggs. We're making history here and you ain't with us, are you?" "No I'm not." "You should be. Why not?" "Maybe because I'm a reporter, I ain't with anybody. Maybe because too many sacred eggs are getting busted. See, I rode the buses back in the 60s to bring people together. Pretty unfashionable now, isn't it?" "Your wife, she's Jewish, ain't she?" "You know, I forgot what she is, all I remember is that we met on the back of a bus."
"I'm trying to remember the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. I said it a million times when I was a kid. Right now I can't seem to remember the words." April 13, 2005

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