Blue State (2007)

BLUE STATE is a romantic comedy about a disgruntled Democrat who actually follows through on a drunken campaign promise to move to Canada if George "Dubya" Bush gets re-elected.

Director:

Marshall Lewy

Writer:

Marshall Lewy

Stars:

Breckin Meyer, Anna Paquin, Joyce Krenz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Breckin Meyer	...	John Logue
Anna Paquin	...	Chloe Hamon
Joyce Krenz	...	Mrs. Logue
Richard Blackburn	...	Mr. Logue
Adriana O'Neil	...	Gloria O'Neill
Seun Olagunju	...	Randall
Bryan Clark	...	The Horny American
Nick Ouellette	...	Hal (as Nicolas Ouellette)
Tim Henry	...	Charlie
James Juce	...	Larry
Elicia Cronin	...	Sandy
Judy Cook	...	Bride
Scott Pangman	...	Canadian Guy #1
Kristjan Harris	...	Artist Type Guy
Leigh Enns	...	Rebecca

Storyline

On the eve of John Kerry's 2004 defeat, campaign volunteer John Logue, canvasing in Ohio, says he'll move to Canada if Bush wins. His pledge gets televised, so when John returns to San Francisco - where his old job and girl-friend evaporate - his friends expect him to deliver on the promise. He gets a call from marryacanadian.ca, accepts their invitation to come to Winnipeg, interviews traveling companions, picks Chloe (she with a nose ring), and sets out. Both John and Chloe have secrets, revealed one at a time, and Winnipeg in 2004, with men and women willing to help US ex-pats gain citizenship, may not be what either needs. Echoes of the Vietnam war help them decide.

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Plot Keywords:

promise | canada | interview | ohio | vietnam war | 

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Taglines:

Destination: Canada

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Blue State - Eine Reise ins Blaue

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$950,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chicken Pictures, Eagle Vision, Paquin Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anna Paquin's character state that she was previously a phys ed teacher. In real life, her mother was a phys ed teacher.

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Goofs

When Jon and Cloe walk into Jon's parents house they both walk past the door too far to shut it (allowing the camera man through). The camera then cuts to Jon's mother in the kitchen and we hear the door close. The camera quickly cuts back to Jon and Cloe as they remain too far away to shut the door.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Suburban Man: Can I help you?
John Logue: Hi, I'm John Logue with the Kerry campaign, and we just want to make sure we get all the voters out there. We have you listed as a strong-leaning Kerry household.
Suburban Man: I'm voting for Bush.
John Logue: You are? Sorry, no matter how many times people say that to me, I just can't get over it. It's like I don't have the enzymes to metabolize someone actually saying that to me.

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Connections

References Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

User Reviews

Successful but begged for more

Eager to tell a story certain aspects of the plot and characters can take a back seat to a film's desire to push the plot.

The film was successful, however, I feel like proper pacing and better character development would have helped.

The political rhetoric, name and fact dropping get old after a while mostly because their analysis is only surface deep. A desire for more thought provoking facts could have helped validate the hero's desire.

Overall acting felt tense and awkward which made the craft more noticeable and made it difficult to let go of the actor's fame.

It's a unique film in it's story and arguably would have been better in a more independent circuit or with less known actors. An overall style or unique artifact was desired and severely missed.