Nobody will confuse this film with cinematic greatness. There's no grandeur. No towering monologues. The camera work, sound and special effects are all good, sometimes very good, but nothing great. The script is good, and necessarily hammy at times.
What this movie does exceptionally well is make fun of nearly everyone who gets caught up in today's divisive politics. The liberals are over the top. The conservatives are over the top. Cliché after cliché, and they all seem silly. And they should: Clichés only become real after they are manifested too often in the world.
The more subtle point is Crystal, the protagonist of the story. She represents the rest of us. Just an average person caught in the middle. She doesn't have a side. She doesn't deserve the injustice of her circumstances. She trudges on against the adversity. She's endowed with her own, potent wisdom, jaded by a world-weary point of view. She's just trying to survive. She's bemused by the insanity of the game, yet sober because her well-being is at stake.
Crystal is an avatar for the average American who simply wants to survive, avoid ruin, and maybe have a chance at happiness, despite the crazy people with megaphones and power trying to do them in.
What this movie does exceptionally well is make fun of nearly everyone who gets caught up in today's divisive politics. The liberals are over the top. The conservatives are over the top. Cliché after cliché, and they all seem silly. And they should: Clichés only become real after they are manifested too often in the world.
The more subtle point is Crystal, the protagonist of the story. She represents the rest of us. Just an average person caught in the middle. She doesn't have a side. She doesn't deserve the injustice of her circumstances. She trudges on against the adversity. She's endowed with her own, potent wisdom, jaded by a world-weary point of view. She's just trying to survive. She's bemused by the insanity of the game, yet sober because her well-being is at stake.
Crystal is an avatar for the average American who simply wants to survive, avoid ruin, and maybe have a chance at happiness, despite the crazy people with megaphones and power trying to do them in.