Butler's Cinema Scene

“BOYS STATE” My rating: B+

109 minutes | MPAA rating: PG-13

After watching the spectacularly engrossing documentary “Boys State” I don’t know wether to celebrate our democracy or mourn its death.

Boys State, of course, is a week of politically-charged make-believe in which high school seniors, representing their schools and towns, gather in their capitol city to create political parties, draw up platforms and hold mock elections for various state offices.

Dick Cheney went to Boys State. So did Corey Booker. (BTW: Girls State does the same thing for young women.)

This elaborate exercise is sponsored by the American Legion, which despite its reputation for jingoism attempts to level the playing field by randomly dividing the participants into two parties, the Federalists and the Nationalists.  What each party stands for will be determined by its members during the course of a week.

A stated goal of Boys State is to advance civil discourse. We’ll see about that.

Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’s film unfolds in Austin, TX, where 1,100 boys have gathered. Initially one searches in vain for a face of color — this is one majorly white group — but it’s remarkable how many minority faces rise to prominence in just seven days.

The hero of “Boys State” is Steven, whom we meet on the bus ride to Austin. The Hispanic son of a one-time illegal immigrant, Steven doesn’t spew  teen testosterone like some of his fellows. He’s quiet, soaking up the vibes, tentatively making acquaintances.  He’s smart to cautiously feel out the mood of the other kids, because Steven is an unabashed liberal surrounded by gun-owning good ol’ boys (actually, good ol’ young boys).

Before it’s all over Steven improbably will be running as his party’s nominee for governor.  He may not agree entirely with the platform adopted (he’s for gun control and a woman’s right to choose), but he so exudes  basic human decency that even the kids who see things differently are impressed by his integrity.

Another early figure to emerge is Ben, a political junkie  who gets around on two prosthetic legs and adopts a Machiavellian take-no-prisoners approach. He quickly rises to the top of one of the parties, where he puts his considerable political chops to work.  Apparently he is Jewish, though the film makes no big deal of that.

Holding the same job for the opposition is Rene, a skinny African American  with granny glasses and a taste for irony who admits he came to Boys State with some trepidation, but now relishes the opportunity to learn from others. “This is what every liberal needs,” he tells the camera.

Another colorful character is Robert, a good-looking, borderline cocky kid (you just know he was the king of his high school) who is going to West Point in the fall. (Were he going to, say, U.T., you can be pretty sure he’s be presiding over a fraternity in two years and running the student government in three.)

Robert tells us that he’s pro-choice, but certainly isn’t going to mention than when campaigning at Boys State. He challenges Steven for his party’s nomination for governor; it’s a battle between flash and substance.

Some of what transpires in “Boys State” is borderline silly.  While these are the smartest kids in their schools, they’re also just kids. The discussions to forge a party platform have to deal with wacko ideas like having Texas secede from the Union or having the state create its own fighting force to counter an invasion by aliens from outer space.

But at heart the film is about the price of winning. “Sometimes you can’t win on what you feel in your heart,” one youngster observes. “Now I’ve got a new appreciation of why politicians lie to get into office.”

Indeed, the election for governor is largely decided by Ben’s choice to exploit news footage of Steven’s activism in the wake of a school shooting near his home. Ben cannily sends out this material to the Boys Staters who are serving as a press corp, the Internet and other outlets.  Basically it’s a smear campaign.

Later he explains to the filmmakers that “Unity doesn’t win elections.” Instead he chose to find a difference between the candidates and attack on that point.

We probably shouldn’t be surprised that young men with political interests would end up mimicking the darker activities of real-life politicians.

Yeah, there’s something inspiring about smart young men enamored of the political process. But if winning at any cost is all they care about, how’s that going to change a thing?

| Robert W. Butler