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

1 nomination.

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 Terrell Clark	...	The Horny American (as Bryan Clark)
Nicolas Ouellette	...	Hal
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:

election | reference to baghdad iraq | reference to the strawberry statement | dead son | dead brother | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anna Paquin is from Winnipeg, their destination in Canada.

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Goofs

When John calls his mother to tell her he is in Oregon and on his way to see her, he is filling up his own gas tank. However, Oregon gas stations are all full-serve.

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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

An Unromantic Comedy

This is a typical formula romantic comedy in that the couple fight and insult each other for most of the film then suddenly get the hots for each other at the end after getting plastered on home made Canadian beer. It is an unusual romantic comedy in that I found myself hoping the whole film he would escape from her. She was totally wrong for him. She was an soldier in Iraq. He is a rabid peace activist. She lives on junk food and meat. He is a vegetarian. He is highly idealistic. She is totally self centred. He easy going and rational. She is erratic and touchy. There is no attraction besides sex. Usually such differences just create fodder for humour, but in this movie, it turns into a mild horror.

The movie is mostly them sniping at each other. There are two other notable scenes.

In one they go to meet the boy's father, who seems to think he is Rush Limbaugh, or at least a worshipper. It is quite over the top, packing in every Republican stereotype into a few minutes. It is hilarious, horrifying and depressing.

In another scene, he almost marries a gigantic older woman besotted with him that he just met to help him toward Canadian citizenship. It is just creepy.

Other than those two scenes, not much happens. It is like travels of a handsome young man with his cranky cat companion. She is not intelligent enough to say anything interesting, and not stupid enough to be amusing.

This is a strongly anti-Bush film. It was made by Canadians. It has fun with the stereotypes Americans and Canadians have about each other.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 2008 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Blue State

Filming Locations:

Seddon's Corner, Manitoba, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$950,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chicken Pictures, Eagle Vision, Paquin Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color