Game Change

This first teaser for HBO’s original movie Game Change is precisely that, a tease, spending the bulk of its 52 seconds focused on Woody Harrelson as advisor Steve Schmidt as he delivers his blunt assessment of the foundering presidential campaign of John McCain. And while Ed Harris’ McCain gets one line of dialogue and a few choice shots to confirm that Harris has mastered the Senator’s dyspeptic, “is it over yet?” weariness, most of the preview is all about the half-glimpsed silhouettes of a famous, severe up-do and platform heels clacking their way into history. Then, finally, the payoff as Julianne Moore emerges, nailin’ Sarah Palin’s folksy, strident diction as she becomes the game changer that will change the game in a way that the game needs changing, and all that other game-y change-y stuff that worked out for them, and all of us.