Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

A US president who has retired after two terms in office returns to his hometown of Mooseport, Maine and decides to run for Mayor against another local candidate.

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers:

Doug Richardson (story), Tom Schulman (screenplay)

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Ray Romano, Maura Tierney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gene Hackman	...	Monroe Cole
Ray Romano	...	Handy Harrison
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Grace Sutherland
Maura Tierney	...	Sally Mannis
Christine Baranski	...	Charlotte Cole
Fred Savage	...	Bullard
Rip Torn	...	Bert Langdon
June Squibb	...	Irma
Wayne Robson	...	Morris Gutman
John Rothman	...	Stu
Karl Pruner	...	Dyer
David Macniven	...	Cloud
Jackie Richardson	...	Martha
Paul Bates	...	Bob
Reagan Pasternak	...	Mandy

Storyline

Monroe "Eagle" Cole is a former U.S. President ready to settle into a quaint little town named Mooseport. He's ready to take in the lion's share of endorsement deals and speaking engagements while developing his own presidential library. Meanwhile, Handy Harrison is a local hardware store owner with a girlfriend ready to throw in the towel on their relationship. Just as Monroe is offered the local mayor's position, he's found an unlikely opponent in Handy. But ultimately, both men have a lot to lose when the stakes are raised and a simple competition turns into an all out war.

---

Plot Keywords:

mayor | small town | underwear | political campaign | upskirt | 

---

Taglines:

This town isn't small enough for the both of them.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some brief sexual comments and nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 31:07, after Handy (Ray Romano) declares he is running for mayor of Mooseport, he lets out a scream similar to 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean's now infamous "Dean Scream." Coincidence in this 2004 movie--mmhmmm...maybe I said mmhmmm.

---

Goofs

(around 1 hr. and 1 min.) The camera crane and cameraman's shadow is visible on the road, after Handy gets shoved away.

---

Quotes

Sally Mannis: Are you doing the plumbing for the whole town now?
Handy Harrison: No I came to see you.
Sally Mannis: Through the drain?

---

Connections

Referenced in Diminishing Returns: Jaws (2016)

---

Soundtracks

Why Can't We Be Friends
Written by Papa Dee Allen (as Sylvester Allen), Harold R. Brown, B.B. Dickerson,
Lonnie Jordan (as Leroy Jordan), Charles Miller, Lee Oskar, Howard Scott and Jerry Goldstein
Performed by War
Courtesy of Avenue Records

User Reviews

Refreshing

It's so nice to have something other than an over hyped blockbuster sequel to see for a change. Mooseport may not have been spectacular and is by no means a classic, but I enjoyed it and thought that it was refreshing to see nice, clean, innocent entertainment for a change. That's almost unheard of these days. And it is, in my opinion, a welcome move by the writers. It's about time they realized that we are not so utterly mindless as to want only sex and violence. The movie is true to Romano's style and the humour is as modest as ever. Gene Hackman is talented as expected and the support cast is pretty good. Overall, this was a pretty good family movie. The kind you're not embarrassed to watch in front of your parents or your kids.

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mooseport

Filming Locations:

Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,775,132, 22 February 2004

Gross USA:

$14,470,947

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,615,099

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox, Intermedia Films, Mediastream Vierte Film GmbH & Co. Vermarktungs KG

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1