The Washington Times does an excellent job documenting the impact “The Undefeated” is having, even as much of the MSM chooses to ignore it and judge the film’s box office as though it were “Harry Potter.”
1. “The Undefeated” packs a Chicago theatre:
“Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in OrangeCounty” was the headline at Atlantic.com. But as Christian Toto of the Washington Times has pointed out, this was based on the experience of a lone political blogger at a single midnight showing of the film, the story was picked up by politico.com and the Los Angeles Times. Not many political documentaries would clock well at the witching hour.
Other outlets have taken their potshots as well. Entertainment Weekly proclaimed, “Sarah Palin’s ‘The Undefeated’: We saw it so you don’t have to.” Huffington Post chimed in, “Box Office Bomb: Sarah Palin and the Failure of ‘The Undefeated.'”
But we aren’t talking Captain America or Harry Potter here. A conservative political documentary requires a different measure of success. And this indie underdog film has been scoring unexpected successes – and fans – in decidedly liberal places.
After a five-city expansion, the film made its Chicago debut Saturday to a packed house at the GeneSiskelFilmCenter. Yes, I said, “Chicago.”
2. Roger Ebert showed both Governor Palin and “The Undefeated” respect in his review:
What astonished me is that the primary targets in the film are conservative Republicans. Yes, there are the usual vague references to liberals and elitists (although I heard the word “Democrat” only twice). But the film’s favorite bad guys seem to be in the GOP establishment. This seems odd, considering that the target audience is presumably Republicans.
Toward the end the right-wing tub-thumper Andrew Breitbart opens up with both barrels on establishment Republicans, and is particularly angry about conservatives in Washington, who he describes as eunuchs.
3. Member of Left-wing media declares “Caribou Barbie” narrative dead:
Sunday’s left-leaning Chicago Sun-Times led its story coverage with a post-film recap called, “Film Drives a Stake into ‘Caribou Barbie’ for one Dem.” The “one Dem” was Eddie Bryant, a retired 67-year old Union Pacific employee of African American-descent. “People say this lady is brainless,” said Bryant. “She’s not only smart, but she’s a clean-government person. I gained respect for her.” And Bryant’s not the only one.
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert, a passionate political liberal, called the film “A Documentary for Palin Lovers.” A powerful industry voice, Ebert could have maligned the film; he didn’t. If Hollywood hasn’t uttered a collective “wow” by now, it should.
After years of Palin-bashing, these cracks in the mainstream media plaster would seem to be an anomaly. But they are not. Even last week’s Newsweek cover story on Palin had a kinder, gentler take on the former governor giving conservatives a serious case of whiplash.
Much more here, including an in-depth interview with the film’s writer/director.
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