The Assassination of Richard Nixon, 2004

I guess this was a tax write-off---why else would they give it such a truly terrible title, unless they wanted to make sure no one would want to see it after hearing the name of it? But I gave it a chance, and to be honest, it was second priority as I was doing something else, and thinking I would turn it off in a few minutes. But I kept it on, and it drew me in. In part, Sean Penn's utterly sincere performance as a nice guy who wants the world to be pure, when it is not, is what kept me going, although I knew it would not be a cheery story the further it went. But his portrayal of totally ordinary life---both very much that of Nixon's 1974, but also any other time--is effective. Besides being a put-off, the title misleads you about what 90% of the movie is actually about: the look into the life of a salesman in a furniture store, which is right on the money in terms of finding the right smile and right pep talk, without being clichéd. Though he has two nice young kids, his wife had tired of his moods, and rebuffs his overtures at reconciliation. He is sort of a grown-up Holden Caulfield: even the most normal little sales blandishments and polite lies cut him to the heart. And as may sometimes be the case, those who are so deeply wounded, with no where to go, act out their frustration in odd ways. If you don't want to see the tragic inevitable ending for his character, turn it off before the last ten minutes---you will get a good sympathetic character study up to then to stay with. But, geez--that title. (How about, say, "Do Unto Others," or "America Dreamed" as alternates?) 3.10 ---- (The new Ben Stiller movie "Greenberg" may be similar in some ways, but with a happier ending.)

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