Jimmy Carter: Man from PlainsHokey charms and convictions October 31,
2007 11:35:51 AM
Jimmy Carter
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Jonathan Demme’s latest documentary chronicles the controversial 2006 book tour by the former president. The book’s title, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid tells you all you need to know. Carter believes that Israel must pull out of the occupied areas to begin the peace process. This, of course, does not sit well with the Israelis and others who support Israel’s current policies. Weary and dogged, Carter soldiers on despite accusations of plagiarism, falsification, and anti-Semitism. The tour and the criticism wear away the already frail 39th president, until the big showdown at Brandeis University, where he speaks but refuses an invitation to follow up in a debate with outspoken Harvard law professor and staunch Israel supporter Alan Dershowitz. Demme for the most part remains unbiased, but by the end even he’s drawn in by Carter’s hoky charms and unbending conviction.
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A step ahead of the rest
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A rich kid on the road to comeuppance
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Ever shirtless, ever silly
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Oodles of fun
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Inadvertent camp
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No pulse
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A humorless turd
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Righteous and garden-fresh
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Silly confusion
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Cheap and flimsy
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- Unintentional laughs
- A step ahead of the rest
- Too many weird gimmicks
- Religious groups and the environment
- A rich kid on the road to comeuppance
- A shambling charmer
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- Poignant enough
- An 88-minute flop
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