Posted on 04/25/2006 2:16:33 AM PDT by tlb
TIM McCarthy - the fearless Secret Service agent who took a bullet for President Reagan during a 1981 assassination attempt - is livid at the new Fox action flick, "The Sentinel," in which Michael Douglas portrays him as a two-timing rake.
McCarthy - thinly disguised as "Pete Garrison," who also saves the president's life - is no pillar of morality in the PG-13 flick, which opened nationwide last Friday. His character is blackmailed over an affair he's having with the first lady, who's played by Kim Basinger. He's also framed for the murder of another agent.
My daughter saw it and she was upset by it. She said there is no question it's me. My wife is also upset by it. When it hits that close to home, you can't be pleased."
"Over the weekend, it must have been a dozen people who came up to me and said, 'Hey, we saw you in that movie! "' the lawman lamented. "But I don't think there's anything I can do about it."
McCarthy does feel some satisfaction that "The Sentinel," which also stars Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria, only opened third at the box office with $14.7 million - being easily whipped by the dopey "Silent Hill" and "Scary Movie 4."
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
How McCarthy sees this as a depiction of himself is beyond me.
It really depends on how much similarity there is. But I'm sure if there is something he can do about it, the lawyers will be calling him.
It's not really a retelling at all so much as a fictional reinvention occurring sometime post-Clinton. There are a few shots at the beginning regarding the Reagan shooting, and he's viewed as a hero in the agency for taking that bullet.
That's about all that's made of it.
I consider it a pretty good popcorn flick. Entertaining. A few cliche scenes, but at least in my eyes, more entertaining than most of what you're going to see out right now.
Scary Movie 4? Please.
I could see why McCarthy would be upset. The character is perceived favorably throughout the film, but for someone who take his job as seriously as a Secret Service agent, the film of course projects flaws to deepen the plot. They essentially take a historical figure and reinvent history.
The sitting Prez, for instance, is (hopefully) a Democrat, with his calls to enact Kyoto. Nor is he intended to be Clinton (we see Clinton in a picture on the wall).
It does sound kind of like the Al Gore/Love Story thing.
Out of respect for Tim McCarthy, a man I admire very much, I'll not be seeing this film.
Out of disrespect for Hollyweird, an effort that I despise, I'll not be seeing this film right away either. I'll wait and let history judge and perhaps see it in a few years.
Kim Bassinger --Didnt she buy a town, She was Alec Baldwins punching bag for a while, plus Prince, the "Purple Rain "clown got a chunk. Good looking moron, but not wrapped too tight upstairs.
I don't get it. So McCarthy, in real life, screwed the first lady and planned to kill the president? If not, then it's just another fictional story, ala Line of Fire w/Clint Eastwood.
How McCarthy sees this as a depiction of himself is beyond me.
Maybe he is guilty of something. I swear people's egos are so funny. He must think the movie is all about him. Is he part of that me generation or what. I probably will not see the film but rent it when it comes out.
Well, my wife and I saw the movie on Friday night, and thought it was a pretty good movie. Very entertaining. The plot twists were pretty thinly veiled, and you could pretty much pick out who the mole was without too much trouble, but it was still a good escape for 2 hours. And, my wife and I were amazed by how clean it was. Yes, there was an affair that was a secondary plot line, but there was no sex...no nudity...and surprisingly, very, very little bad language. No F bombs. I don't even remember a "GD". In fact, I cannot remember any curse words at all. Which is surprising from Hollyweird these days. And the violence was very tame. Less than on 24 or some of the other cop shows.
It's a freaking movie! Of course, this is all hype to get people out to see it, but I repeat -- It's a freaking movie!
On a related topic, I was glad that silly looking "American Dreamz" movie got clobbered over the weekend. It was number 8 on this list of movies. Only made $3.7 million. Pretty poor. If it had been #1 you can imagine how the media would be crowing about it because the president, who is obviously supposed to be like GWB, is a moron.
"It does sound kind of like the Al Gore/Love Story thing."
Or Clinton identifying with the President in Independence Day.
Sorry, this was an AWFUL movie. Just terrible. But It's amazing how much Michael Douglas now looks like his Father.
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