The Mondavi Gang

Among the cardinal rules to remember at your next party: Smile, be sociable and talk plenty. Keep the convo light and airy. Discuss movies or music only. Skip religion (of course) and as for politics —don't go there either. But here's a movie that's about a party filled with a cast that talks about nothing but politics. Which is why "The Mondavi Gang" is quite the dare.

David Morwick (Little Erin Merryweather) and Lalesha Railsback (daughter of actor Steve Railsback) co-direct a powerful twist on archetypal political discourse. In "Mondavi", Democrats go after each other at least as much as they fight Republicans. But pay attention: Even the throwaway lines are memorable, along with the roll call of references to TV pundits (Pat Buchanan, Joan Walsh, et al). Morwick's script so strikingly foreshadows the missteps of the Obama administration that it's almost eerily psychic. Add spot-on performances, a caustic reference to sexist comments by Chris (Tingle-Up-My-Leg) Matthews and a conclusion that includes a near fistfight that disintegrates hilariously into a cake fight, and somewhere in-between you'll find something in "Mondavi" you hardly ever see on the 24-hour news cycle — smart, snarky, passionate political theater.

Given the big election is coming up, I just watched this again. When I saw The Mondavi Gang in the theater the first time, I was blown away by the performances. Railsback, Morwick, Arnold and Johnson are excellent, like watching 4 great actors doing live theater and really going at it.

Morwick also wrote the script, and his dialogue has a powerful punch. It really crackles!! This movie says what a lot of us think, but are afraid to say; women need to watch this since it takes on sexism, front and center.

I saw this twice at the two biggest women's film festivals in California and it got a great reception. It's the first time I remember people clapping in the middle of a film at a festival. It happened with the line, "until we realize we women are held to a double standard, then we're never going to get the biggest prize, whether we're V.P. or President." Along with every woman in the audience, I cheered!! This really was quite the feminist statement. So I've got to give special credit to a man for writing it, along with LaLesha Railsback for producing and co-directing.

An explosive political thriller that rips the lid off the hype and hypocrisy of American politics without even leaving the dining room table. Four talented performers (David Morwick, AnnaLea Arnold, R. Brandon Johnson and Lalesha Railsback) purportedly gather to celebrate a birthday with a quiet dinner. But before they're done — and well before dessert — they manage to cluster bomb the 2008 Presidential campaign, along with their relationships. In particular, Morwick scores as the angst-driven Clintonite enraged by an Obama-obsessed media. His smoldering intensity, enhanced by his All-American good looks, very nearly leaps off the screen. Arnold, as the staunch Republican, squelches the stereotype of a screeching right-winger to offer a surprisingly even-handed treatment of Sarah Palin. The film's balanced approach -- Johnson skillfully kicks the Dems just as much as Railsback skewers Republicans -- is neither a red state rant nor a liberal diatribe. The result is something way more thoughtful than anything on the cable news scream fests, equally high-decibel yet far more exhilarating. Within half-an-hour, Morwick -- who also wrote the screenplay -- torpedoes sexism, ageism, fawning media doublespeak, overpromising yet underperforming politicians and at least a dozen other hot button issues. But the lingering aftertaste of The Mondavi Gang still leaves you hungry for more. Your next dinner party should be this lively, but if it is, heed our warning -- first hide the crockery. (Bill Retherford, Coast-With-The-Most Productions)

The politically inspired film is certainly alive and well. Take The Mondavi Gang, a new short film dealing with the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. Documenting a conversation between close friends where politics becomes a fiery dinnertime subject, the film is a remarkable depiction of politics as they register in everyday people, not the media talking heads who typically lost their minds. The film is brilliant and a blessing. When one thinks about it, it's also wonderfully subtle, because it formulates a round table critique of the candidates without being boringly or boorishly partisan. We get dissections of all the candidates and x-rays of their supporters' passions. David Morwick is especially excellent as the Hilary Clinton advocate. One feels not only entertained but instructed by his point-by-point assessment.

However, neither his character nor any of the others seem didactic to the viewer; to each other, however, they can be hilariously pedantic. The ensemble cast is uniformly strong. This is the kind of film to alleviate the doldrums of Hollywood visions of presidential derring-do and dirty tricksaroo. Here is (finally!) some intelligent cinema which helps this viewer, this citizen, understand a little more about the different people with whom he shares this vast, confusing land. Bravo, The Mondavi Gang!