Review: Vote Motherfucker!

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020 

Images from the Internet

Vote Motherfucker! 

Directed by Lenny Schwartz 

Daydream Films; IM Filmworks 

83 minutes, 2020 

Available free (for now) at link after the review. 

This year, 2020, has been nothing short of bedlam. Three events have arisen that has given those of us in the West a peek into a view of the world that is unprecedented. 

Chronologically, it started on a grand scale with the COVID-19 outbreak of course, for which writer and director Lenny Schwartz examined in his film, Far from Perfect: Life Inside a Global Pandemic (2020; reviewed HERE), via vignettes. With this release, he set the paradigm of a trilogy, shot by the actors themselves on Zoom, cell phones, etc., based on Lenny’s screenplay and a bit of ad libbing; then Lenny and oft collaborator Nathan Suher sewed them together into a cultural overview with some narrative form. 

Then came the rise of cancel culture, when cultural events and venues have been shut down, depriving fans of seeing their idols throughout the summer and apparently mostly into 2021, such as with music festivals and big film releases. Schwartz presented this through his own lens about the cessation of comic cons, in Comic Book Junkies (2020; reviewed HERE). This is actually appropriate if you follow the trajectory of Superhero releases that have been held in check until theaters reopen to full capacity some time next year or later. 

The third crush for attention of the year centers around the very contentious presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. This film is Lenny’s take on not just the candidates and some of what they stand for (or against), but a viewing of the political landscape to finish off this stunning social distanced 2020 trilogy.

As with the previous two, the cast here are both professionals and not. There are the actors, such as Sarah Reed, Michael Thurber, Jamie Lyn Bagley and Samantha Acampura (who does a stunningly powerful touch about what it’s like to be a Jew during the whole alt-right revival; I’m with ya, landsman), but also members of local film crews and other denizens mostly of the New England landscape. It’s interesting to see how they interpret and present Schwartz’s screenplay, which is part of what I liked about this experiment. In all, there are nearly sixty of these pieces, averaging under two minutes each, so it is never too much of one story. Despite the level of professional actors varying, the passion is there, and it comes across viscerally. 

 As might be asked, and how is this film different from all of the other trilogy films? For this release, while the “shell” looks the same as the previous ones, there are also some key different takes on the narrative formula in that each vignette is more individualized, and less directly connected. It is the performer(s) addressing the audience with opinions, while also occasionally giving a bit of a history lesson with spoonfuls of reality. Lenny, via his surrogate cast, breaks down how government works during election time, starting off with explaining the electoral college, what it is, and how it works.

One would think this would be some kind of boring history lesson, but the way it is presented is probably more… well, let’s say user friendly. It’s also spread out enough where it doesn’t feel like one is sitting in a classroom. It is way more conversational than one might expect. 

 Another difference from the previous two films, quite frankly, is the tone of desperation. Definitely coming from the perspective of the Left, it does come across as a bit preachy at times, but quite honestly, that is the place in history where we are living for the time being. Being from the Left myself, I could easily identify with most of the characters (not the Jill Stein-like third party voters which at one point included the “Bernie Bros,” though).

The reason – and I believe rightfully so – that this comes across as moralizing is because it is particularly one sided, meaning to the Left. But the form and the forum dictates this as necessary: because of the lack of narrative structure per se, and the times they are a-desperate, it’s the Left that is needed to vote to override the Right’s overwhelming media presence. For example, I recently attended a virtual panel discussion where the topic was Media and the Election. After about 20 minutes, one of the six Left-oriented scholars said, essentially, all that they had talked about until then was Trump and Republican strategies that have been used, and they needed to discuss the Democratic side, as well. All agreed, but within 5 or 10 minutes, it was back to whining about the Right. This is one of the reasons why this film is important, because the Left is not getting enough of its message through, being drowned out by “rigging,” “Hunter” and other news memes from the Right.

And within this film, despite all the discussions of the “lesser of two evils,” third-party candidates, attacks on LGBQT+ and women’s freedoms, the rise of the militia-minded, and feelings of disenchantment with the process and so forth, there is also an underlying tone of humor, such as the electoral college being referred to as electile disfunction. This was proven to be true, sadly, over the last few elections, with GW Bush managing to steal the Seat and Trump gaining his power in 2016 despite losing by over three million popular (legal) votes. That being said, this is not exactly a “feel good” film, but rather it is a document of its time, which is why it is important and worth the watch. I assure you, you will not be bored. 

The entire film available free for now HERE.