Video Capsule Review

THE SECOND CIVIL WAR

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With: Beau Bridges, Phil Hartman, James Earl Jones and Denis Leary

THE SECOND CIVIL WAR Beau Bridges, Phil Hartman, James Earl Jones, Denis Leary (1997, HBO, R, $94.99) In the near future, the governor of Idaho (Bridges) closes his state's borders to a group of Pakistani children orphaned by a nuclear blast; the media- conscious president (Hartman), eager to show he isn't ''weak,'' retaliates by amassing troops in Utah. All hell, naturally, breaks loose. Directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins), this black comedy tackles issues from immigration to media manipulation with more intelligence and candor than most dramas. What it isn't, sadly, is terribly funny -- a typical punchline involves a reporter trapped on a plane with dozens of orphans and a broken toilet. Pee-yew! The ending, which abandons comedy altogether, is downright mawkish. C

Posted Oct 31, 1997

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