HBO's "Recount" Makes Us Look Back Before Moving Forward

In one sentence, HBO's made-for-TV-movie "Recount" brings back the pain and agony of the 2000 presidential election like a slap in the face: "Anybody ever heard of a hanging chad?"

There we are, back at those few weeks where the center of the world was Florida, and the fate of the country depended on the decisions of a few. The true story is better than any fiction writer could ever come up with: the rollercoaster ride, the circus-like spectacle, and the tragic ending.

"Recount" is a strong film, both dramatic and funny. While it may be more fiction than fact, it succeeds in one undeniable way: it reminds us of the many, many things that can go wrong with the election process. Today, at the dawn of another historical election, it is important to look back and remember the mistakes that were made.

The docu-drama, which premiers on HBO Sunday, May 25, begins when the votes were rolling in, and through a nice montage of actual news footage, the turbulent story unfolds. Al Gore is declared the winner. Then, the news media takes it back. Then George W. Bush is declared the winner. Then the media takes that back, too.

And then all eyes turn to Florida. Kevin Spacey plays Ron Klain, who heads up the fight for the Democrats. For the Republicans, James Baker (Tom Wilkinson) takes the reins.

The rest, as they say, is history, so there's no need to really go into the plot. The film, directed by Jay Roach (creator of the Austin Powers movies), goes through all the ups and downs, the fights in state and federal supreme court, the protests, and the recounts.

Apparently, the real guys behind Gore's campaign are pretty upset about the film, according to news reports. And they probably should be- they don't come off as the smartest guys in the room. Warren Christopher (John Hurt), the former secretary of state who led the Gore campaign, appears to be out-of-tune with the real world of politics and a little delusional.

But it is, after all, a movie--not a documentary. So, theatrical liberties are permitted. Most of the actors have a striking resemblance to the real politicians they're playing. There's a lot of focus on Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern), perhaps because she is one of the easiest to poke fun at (garish makeup and horse riding included).

"Recount" is a winner because it inspires discussion about the state of America's voting system. It reminds viewers that many people were banned from voting because their names were on a felons list, but legally they should have been able to vote. It reminds people of the carelessness (or carefulness, depending on who you ask) with which the ballot was constructed, so confusing that many people accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore.

So flawed was the system that a tiny piece of hanging, or dimpled, paper was a big enough issue to make it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today, flawed systems have already come back to haunt the campaign. Hillary Clinton brought up the mess of 2000 during a speech in Boca Raton on Wednesday because Florida and Michigan were stripped of Democratic convention delegates due to a scheduling conflict.

"You learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner," Clinton said, according to news reports.

With all that went wrong, no one wants to relive the 2000 election. Watching it on TV, however, might be worth your time.