Reel Talk With Cinemaddicts Presents: Boogie Man The Lee Atwater Story

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Author: Zak Stoltz

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008) welcomes viewers into the mind of one of the most conniving, mud-slinging, manipulative politicians that ever existed – which makes you wonder why it’s so damn boring.

Filmmaker Stefan Forbes depicts the rise and fall of infamous Republican political strategist and consultant Lee Atwater in Boogie Man. Celebrated and criticized as the “Darth Vader” of the Republican Party, Atwater invented and enhanced modern political strategies, including ruthless smear tactics. Despite his questionable ethics and outright slander, he’s been regarded as a political genius, credited with the campaign successes of both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.

So with our own bout of nasty electioneering this year, how can something so seemingly exciting and relevant be so dull and confusing? The subject matter of Boogie Man has potential, but it is presented in such a way that it’s very hard to stay engaged. Consequently, we were bored out of our minds and got more pleasure out of counting how many pretzels were left in our bags of reduced-fat Gardetto’s than actually watching the film.

Boogie Man has the dryness of a political history textbook, and with less relevant information. It nearly put both of us to sleep. The (not so) funny part is that it’s actually a relatively short documentary at 85 minutes, but boy does it feel long. Worst of all, for being so short and feeling so long, far too much is left unexplained.

Viewers don’t necessarily have to possess a great knowledge of history or politics to understand the film, but it certainly helps. One of the things that makes Boogie Man so difficult to follow is the way it jumps back and forth in time as it attempts to paste together non-sequiturs.

While in the midst of rationalizing Atwater’s brutal campaigning methods, the documentary segues to the story of his brother’s tragic death, as if that explains everything. But it doesn’t, and by the end of the film, the audience still knows very little about the man other than that he’s a sneaky bastard. In fact, the film will go on for minutes at a time without mention of Atwater. Boogie Man lacks the cohesion necessary for a good, comprehensive documentary.

Keeping up with the status quo, the visuals in Boogie Man are terrible. The film utilizes such an awkward and amateur editing style that it feels like nothing more than a feature length student film. There is absolutely no need to spend 26 seconds zooming in on a still of Atwater’s face. [Zak: I know it was 26 seconds because I was so bored by the stagnant stills that I started timing them.] The only positive aspect of the documentary’s aesthetic is the visually interesting interview angles, but even those are sometimes ruined by the shaky camera.

One of our favorite parts of Forbes’ “Intro to Final Cut” editing style is the way he’ll cut away from interviewees, sometimes during mid-sentence! To say this practice is frustrating would be an understatement.

Boogie Man was written, shot, and edited by Forbes. This would be impressive if the film was any good, but it’s not. Quite frankly, Forbes isn’t good at any of those three things.

Cindy: Boogie Man may be appealing for those interested in politics, but I’m sure there are much better documentaries out there that don’t leave you confused and cursing at the screen. There are quicker, more efficient and all-around better resources. Like Wikipedia.

1 of 5 STARS

Zak: There are a number of political documentaries I’ve watched and thoroughly enjoyed. Boogie Man is not one of them. It’s a truly awful film with an entertainment value of approximately zero. I want 85 minutes of my life back. Don’t see it . . . ever.

0.5 of 5 STARS

Final Verdict: Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story is essentially a feature length student film that sucks. In order to get the most out of it, you’d have to see it twice, but anyone who wants to see this movie more than once has something wrong with them.

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