George Clooney as Howard Dean? Watch the Trailer

Movie theaters are currently playing this trailer for The Ides of March, starring and directed by George Clooney, to be released on October 7.

It’s based on Farragut North, a play by Beau Willimon, who worked on Howard Dean’s unsuccessful presidential run. The New York Times called the play “predictable but enjoyable.”

Now it’s a star-studded drama, and, as far as I can tell, Clooney is playing the candidate, who wasn’t actually seen in the play version. Ryan Gosling plays the young staffer, and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti play campaign spinmeisters. So we’re talking Oscar potential.

I watched the trailer twice without figuring out the film had any connection with Vermont, Dean or actual recent campaigns. To me, the movie looks pretty generic (note the Obama allusion in the pictured campaign poster) and heavy-handed. The cast might make it worth the ticket price. But watch for yourself and see what you think.

This article appears in Sep 7-13, 2011.