Not so with director-writer Stefan Forbes' first film, "Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story," because playing it down the middle captures the many facets of this fascinating, flawed character in American politics.
Lee Atwater grew up in South Carolina determined to be somebody. He loved blues music and played a mean guitar. But he discovered his real talent in politics, to which he brought a take-no-prisoners attitude. In one of his first races, to re-elect South Carolina Republican Floyd Spence to Congress, he instituted partisan "push polling" and spread the rumor that Democrat Tom Turnipseed had been "hooked up to jumper cables" when he was treated with electroshock therapy as a teen.
Atwater's success in South Carolina attracted the attention of the national GOP, and soon he was working in the White House under Ed Rollins. Ultimately, Atwater became campaign manager for the senior George Bush - where he pulled off the alarming feat of making a New England son of privilege look like a Texas good-ol'-boy. Atwater played the race card, and played it hard, with the infamous "Willie Horton" ads, which slammed Democrat Michael Dukakis as soft on crime.
Through interviews with a slew of campaign observers and GOP insiders - including Rollins, Mary Matalin and Tucker Eskew (who's now advising John McCain) - Forbes shows how Atwater's campaign emphasis on Southern whites and "culture wars" voters became the Republican strategy that put George H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush into office.
The documentary also shows the contradictions in Atwater's life. His campaign strategies played on racial fears, yet he loved blues music and played guitar alongside black musicians. He fought tooth-and-nail to win elections, yet when he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1990, he wrote letters and articles personally apologizing to such folks as Turnipseed and Dukakis.
By the end of "Boogie Man," Forbes doesn't judge Atwater's contradictions. Instead the film lets Atwater's friends and enemies each speak his or her piece - then leaves it for the audience to figure the man out. In a way, the movie lets the audience vote on a referendum for Atwater's soul. It may be the fairest election with which he was ever involved.
Sean P. Means can be reached at movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602.
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Where » Tower Theatre.
When » Opens today.
Rating » Not rated, but probably PG-13 for language.
Running time » 86 minutes.
Bottom line » A fair and balanced look at a GOP operative and his dirty work.
