Review of One Bright Shining Moment

I participated in Vietnam Summer (1967), campaigned for Gene McCarthy, and was an ardent supporter of McGovern's presidential bid even after the Eagleton fiasco. I hoped that this movie would bring back the excitement and conflict of that era. Instead, it exaggerates McGovern's virtues and everyone else's faults. The narrator makes derogatory comments about everyone else, even those who arguably are not so different from McGovern (smart, well intentioned, often effective, and human). Most of the movie is interviews with participants, including McGovern himself, who still has all the traits that made him attractive 35 years ago, including honesty about his mistakes. But many of those interviewed had peripheral roles at best and have little to say that is insightful or interesting. The big exception is Dick Gregory, who is full of clever analogies and insights.