Anytown, USA (2005)

Three Candidates, Two blind Politicians, One Race. Anytown USA follows a tightly run race in the small town of Bogota, New Jersey and resonates as an all-too-familiar look at partisan politics in our increasingly polarized nation.

Director:

Kristian Fraga

Stars:

Steve Lonegan, Fred Pesce, Dave Musikant

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Lonegan	...	Himself
Fred Pesce	...	Himself
Dave Musikant	...	Himself
Doug Friedline	...	Himself
Bill Palatucci	...	Himself
George Shaloub	...	Himself
Joe Noto	...	Himself
Melissa Schnipp	...	Herself
Tom Layson	...	Himself
Janine Strafaci	...	Herself
Drew Speier	...	Himself
Alan Bookspan	...	Himself
Allison Bookspan	...	Herself
Eileen Karpoff	...	Herself
Tom Dematrakis	...	Himself

Storyline

All politics is local in this hilarious burlesque of a documentary following a tightly-run mayoral race in the small town of Bogota, New Jersey. When the much-reviled--and legally blind--Republican incumbent Steven Lonegan boldly announces he will run for re-election, the citizens of Bogota go on the offensive to unseat him. Enter Democrat Fred Pesce, coaxed from retirement to share the ticket. With his health in question, and his politics compared to those of Tony Soprano, the field is wide open for sight-challenged town booster and former local football hero Dave Musikant to step in as a long-shot write-in independent candidate--officially making it the only mayoral race in the nation where two of the three candidates are legally blind! Add to the mix the machinations of Jesse "The Body" Ventura's campaign manager, and Anytown USA resonates as an all-too-familiar look at the charade of partisan politics in our increasingly polarized nation.

---

Plot Keywords:

behind the scenes | election campaign | political documentary | independent film

---

Taglines:

All Politics is Local

---

Genres:

Documentary

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Bogota, New Jersey, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

XMark Monkey, 4th Row Films, Sirk Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Crazy Credits

Special Thanks... Indiana Jones

---

Connections

Edited from Tuesday in November (1945)

---

Soundtracks

"Candidate Shuffle"
Arranged by Robert Miller

User Reviews

American politics in a microcosm

Anytown, USA is a documentary about a small town election which is American politics in a microcosm. The candidates are creepy neo-conservative mayor who wants to cut services including the local high school, the boring middle of the road Democrat who doesn't even seem to try and the blind cancer survivor running as a third candidate. There's some dirty tricks including the Republicans publishing a "newspaper" which is pretty much the small town equivalent of FOX News. There's some other dirty tricks on the other side, including rumours about the Democratic candidate's failing health.

All in all, it's a pretty good light documentary. Not really a documentary about an issue but more about people and the chaotic, delinquent American political system which continues to fail people.