"Welcome To Mooseport" poses an unlikely question: if a popular ex-President campaigned to be the mayor of a small town against an honest, somewhat dimwitted plumber, who would win? This may seem like a farfetched premise, unworthy of a feature film.
And it is.
The film stars Ray Romano as "Handy" Harry Harrison, a plumber in the small town of Mooseport, Maine, who finds himself locked in a heated political struggle with the recently divorced ex-President of the United States, Monroe "Eagle" Cole, played by Gene Hackman. The reason behind the conflict between Harrison and Cole is, of course, a woman, Sally Mannis (Maura Tierney), Harrison's longtime girlfriend who becomes the object of the ex-President's desire.
While the film initially shows promise as a comedic political satire with a strong cast, it fails to deliver anything except for bland political commentary and an excess of unoriginal, cheesy romance. While Hackman gives a commendable performance as Cole, a somewhat corrupt but good-natured ex-President, his character fails to develop much beyond a static caricature of a modern politician.
Romano's Harrison, the loveable and honest underdog, is similarly one-sided and bland. His style of acting is almost identical to his work on the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," which may be tolerable for half-hour blocks but grows old and predictable on the big screen.
"Welcome to Mooseport" does have good qualities, just not enough to outweigh the bad. At times the game of one-upmanship between Harrison and Cole, such as during their political debate and friendly game of golf, is genuinely comical. Unfortunately as the film plays out, these situations become more and more repetitive and as a result much less humorous.
The ex-President's use of underhanded campaigning techniques offers a small fraction of the satire the film's trailer promises, but for the most part, the little satiric comedy in the film has is overshadowed by its frail attempts at romantic humor.
The supporting cast shines, especially Christine Baranski, who plays the President's bitter ex-wife Charlotte, and Fred Savage, who plays the President's political consultant. Sadly, neither character is developed nearly enough and are therefore unable to give much relief to the film's monotony.
While the romantic banter between Romano and Tierney has a few humorous moments, it relies far too heavily on running jokes and clich?(c)d dialogue. It grows old quickly.
The film's ending is as predictable and bland as the rest of the film. By the closing, it's more than obvious that the film overextended itself in several ways. The elements of romantic comedy and political satire that it reaches for cancel each other out. Had Petrie tried to put more emphasis on one or the other, it may have helped to add life to the film. In addition to this, many members of the supporting cast, especially Baranski (who bears an eerie resemblance to Hillary Rodham Clinton,) remain boring and without depth.
Either leave "Welcome to Mooseport" for an extremely rainy night, or leave it off the list completely.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
