Two political experiences hit video at the same time this month.
On HBO MAX*, they reunite the cast of WEST WING and do a beautifully staged reading of an election night script from the original series twenty years ago. The filming is stunning: on the bare stage of a 1920s theater in downtown LA, with a handful of stage props and brilliant lighting. The purpose of it all is to get people to vote, with numerous cameos in the place of commercials (Michelle Obama, Lin-Manuel Miranda.) In his two minutes, Lin-Manuel does a star comic turn. (He's at 32:55). The reunion runs an hour.
On NETFLIX, see TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7. In a two-hour movie, Aaron Sorkin creates the backstory to the Democratic Convention riots while placing most of the film in the courtroom. The courtroom is run by a senile, vindictive, and show-stealing Frank Langella in the best acting performance I've ever seen by him. Sascha Baron Cohen plays the central figure Abbie Hoffman with a Worcester Mass accent. Cameo by Michael Keaton as the prior Attorney General.
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* If you haven't figured it out yet, HBO MAX is the current internet or phone app version of HBO. You log on with your cable TV credentials if you have HBO - or you can subscribe to HBO MAX directly.
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Quirk: I watched the first fifteen minutes of TRIAL Saturday night, and when I got in the car Sunday morning, it began running automatically on the bluetooth audio in the car. I ended up listening to most of the two-hour movie while driving or biking on Sunday as if it were a radio play. I don't recommend this but it worked pretty well.
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