Welcome to Mooseport (2004) Reviews

• Aw cmon now.

  userscreenname2004-08-15

  This movie is not as bad as it is cracked out to be. I actually went into the movie with a negative bias by reading all the comments and hearing all the trashing reviews. This movie was not too bad at all. I found it very watchable. Okay ask yourself whether you like the show Everybody Loves Raymond. Because that it is how most of the humor is in the movie, minus the laugh track. The show is a big hit sensation, and the two characters Ray Romano play, in personality and such, are very similiar. The story is pretty outrageous, but in a good way. The movie had the nice friendly small town feel to it. Kind of like Groundhog Day did, minus the having the same day happen over and over again thing, and that entire storyline. It is a pretty friendly movie, and pretty funny as well. Had my laughing on a few occasions. Worth the watch. Don't be intimidated by the reviews. It is a good movie.

  More

• Politics...with some humour.

  dy1582006-08-01

  I somehow do not get it why some don't really like this. I mean, it's meant to be a comedy. Anyone living in a small town will kind of relate to this. I may be coming from someone growing up in an urban environment, but all the excitement of someone famous coming to live in a town is always so fun and surreal. Monroe 'Eagle' Cole (Gene Hackman) had served two successful terms as the president. All he wanted to do is to enjoy his retirement. But his arrival to his hometown of Mooseport had caused some spectacle of sorts. The last thing on Monroe's mind is to run for Mayor but then he was being persuaded by the local authorities to be one. But then he also had an opponent and it's in the form of local resident Handy Harrison (Ray Romano). What was meant to be a fair fight for the mayor position had led to an all-out war of sorts, given the ex-president is meeting Handy's girlfriend Sally (Maura Tierney). It was meant to be a casual meeting between Monroe and Sally about discussing about having a pet, but the media had made it into a spectacle. Also around the same time, the former first lady Charlotte Cole (Christine Baranski) had shown up in Mooseport to support Handy to be the mayor. On the polling day, it was quite a close fight. In fact, very close. It was like no surprise who won in the end. My knowledge of small-town politics is not that wide, but then I am aware of the humour being thrown into it. It's meant to be a fun movie, and nothing else. I do kind of like it.

  More

• a nice political comedy

  MLDinTN2004-12-31

  While not laugh out loud funny, this movie was entertaining and amusing. Gene Hackman played the best character, a popular ex-President who moves to his vacation home only to find himself running for mayor. His character is very stereo-typical of what people think of politicians being, which is a good thing. When making speeches, he says what the audience wants to hear, he tries to dig up dirt on the opponent, etc... And Ray Romano is the opponent, Handy who everyone in town knows. He doesn't like to take risks and isn't opinionated. He's been dating Sally for six years, but hasn't popped the question. Not only do the two run for mayor, they also but heads over Sally. The recently divorced President asks Sally out and she accepts. Of course, his people call the press and they are hounded by cameras. The Pres starts losing book deals and speech tours, so he wants to step down from running but doesn't want it to look like he got beat by his plumber. And the race ends in the happiest way possible. Some of my favorite scenes were the president's golf game, the ex-first lady calling out the secret service in the woods who are there to throw golf balls for the president. Fred SAvage and his line of sight with the pres; the architect who keeps having to shrink the model of the presidential library. A lot of the political humor was just tongue in cheek. FINAL VERDICT: I liked it. At least the plot made sense and it was amusing, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies now days. So, if you are looking for some entertainment, I recommend it.

  More

• Better than most have said

  zetes2004-05-30

  It lacks a satirical bite, which would have made the movie more relevant and interesting, but Welcome to Mooseport is an enjoyable comedy anyway. Ray Romano stars, and he proves himself to be quite an excellent comedian on the big screen. Of course, the role isn't that much different from his character on Everybody Loves Raymond, but it's not at all bad to go with what you know. It's worked with any number of comedians in the past, and it should work with Romano. Unfortunately, the movie tanked at the box office and was not liked much by the audiences who did see it. That really surprises me. Gene Hackman co-stars as the former President of the US, Monroe Cole. He is moving to the small Maine town of Mooseport, and some of the citizens persuade him to run for mayor. Unfortunately, others have also persuaded one of the town's upstanding citizens, the hardware store manager, Handy (Romano), to run. Handy is more than willing to drop out (he doesn't care much and doesn't doubt that the ex-President will trounce him), but when Cole unknowingly hits on Handy's girlfriend (Maura Tierney), the war is on. The film could have gone any number of ways at this point, and I expected it to become mean-spirited. But it doesn't. Cole is an egomaniac, which isn't shocking considering his life, and Handy is an extraordinarily nice guy. A little stupid, especially when it comes to his relationship, but he's the guy you'd like to have as a friend. The funniest sequence involves a golf game between the two candidates. There is one piece of this that is just a great example of montage and comic timing. The movie is sweet without getting too sappy. Yet the movie really squanders a lot of opportunities. This could have been a great political satire, and we need one right now. Its worst crime is hiring a cast that is more talented than it needs to be, thus wasting a lot of people in roles that are beneath them, and likely wasting a ton of money because of it. Marcia Gay Harden, one of the hardest working actresses in Hollywood today, and one of the best, is decent as one of the President's handlers. Rip Torn is a dirty campaign manager. Maura Tierney, so very good on the television show News Radio, doesn't have anything to do. Fred Savage, for God's sake, has most of the funniest moments outside of Romano's presence. Whatever complaints I have, I was always enjoying the movie. It's well worth seeing, and it is a must-see for fans of Romano. 7/10.

  More

• A good but not great movie

  PersianPlaya4082006-08-18

  Donald Petrie's political comedy is spot-on for me, i mean its not an amazing social commentary or anything, but it provides some good laughs, good performances, decent story and plot. I liked Schulman's wit some of the dialogues were pretty funny and Petrie's direction suited the comedic manner in which this film was intended for. Hackman was very good while Romano was not bad either much better here than Grilled, meanwhile Marcia Gay Harden, Fred Savage and Rip Torn were also pretty good. Overall a decent comedy, solid film, no complaints here, should have a higher overall IMDb rating in my opinion.-- IMDb rating: 5.3, my rating: 8/10

  More