What happens when the Governor of Idaho decides to close his state borders to fight a wave of immigrants, but is caught up in a stormy love affair with his fiery Hispanic news reporter mistress? The answer may well be the ... more »start of THE SECOND CIVIL WAR.« less
""The Second Civil War" accomplishes what "Wag the Dog" tried and failed to do. While the latter, despite great performances, becomes a stale one-joke movie, the former takes ever more outrageous twists and turns. And everything that happens is frighteningly within the realm of possibility! Best in-joke: James Earl Jones, the "voice" of CNN, plays a reporter for the CNN clone in the movie."
Awsome movie!
showen@ibm.net | 02/14/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Directed by Joe Dante this brilliant black humor comedy satirizes everything, from racism, to imigration, religion, politics and the power of the media. In a near future, the governor of Idaho(Beau Briges) decides to close his state borders to protect the "american way of life", more precisely his own. The situation turns into a circus when a plane of pakistani refuges fleeing from a nuclear war tries to land in Idaho. And so starts this big mess that might lead to civil war. As the story progresses we see it from various points of view like the news network triyng to explore the situation for higher viewings rates, the imconpetent president and his advisors and governor Farley that sees himself in a situation where there is no turning back. Great performances from James Earl Jones and James Coburn."
Unbelievable HBO Movie!!!
gardener97 | Atlanta | 04/30/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Starts off funny, moves to hilarious and end up very disturbing. An incredible stellar cast. Made in 1997 and for a number of years HBO has pretended it never heard of this film and it is not for sale (today) in the HBO store. It was once sold for a very short time on laser disk and vhs. Then it was pulled and denied. Suddenly it has surfaced on dvd. I figure I'd grab a copy on dvd before it disappears again.
Excellent movie - well crafted and definitely not 'politically correct'."
Funny, relevant and possible
mrpbrooks | 04/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sorry, but I love this movie. Not only is it quite funny, but it prophisized not only Lewinsky, but GW Bush as well. This is something that I think could happen in the US (a Hispanic Revolution, closing our borders to immigration). I also think the fact that Clinton could not ask South Carolina to remove the confederate flag indicates just how fragile the Presidency is in the context of states and Governors."
Welcome to the Human Race.
Tressa L. Breen | Gardner, MA USA | 04/13/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In the near future, a planeload of immigrant orphans are on their way to a charity facility in Idaho when the Governor of the state closes its borders and refuses them entry. This sparks a division of military forces, between states government's National Guard and federal government's Army, each hell bent on protecting their own version of the American Dream, as well as their media images. At the center of this Constitutional storm is a President unable to make a decision without checking with his advisors and referencing one of his predecessors, a Governor more interested in liasons with his immigrant news reporter mistress than dealing with immigration laws, a newsroom where facts and truth balance with viewer shares, and a TV audience more interested in their favorite daytime soap opera. The Great American Melting Pot is about to uncivilly boil over.
This HBO black comedy is an excellent mix of political and news media parody, race relations satire, and morality tale. Wonderfully quirky, and sometimes deeply meaningful, dialogue. Characters run the gamut from dignified to loony. Performances from a large cast are all vibrant and spot on. A movie gem.
Favorite Line(s): "Can't make an omelet without busting some sacred eggs. We're making history here and you ain't with us, are you?" "No I'm not." "You should be. Why not?" "Maybe because I'm a reporter, I ain't with anybody. Maybe because too many sacred eggs are getting busted. See, I rode the buses back in the 60s to bring people together. Pretty unfashionable now, isn't it?" "Your wife, she's Jewish, ain't she?" "You know, I forgot what she is, all I remember is that we met on the back of a bus." "I'm trying to remember the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. I said it a million times when I was a kid. Right now I can't seem to remember the words.""