Posted: Sep 30, 2020 2:11 am
Boys State (2020)(Apple.) It has its moments. It's about an American Legion tradition in which ~20,000 adolescent boys and girls attend a summer camp that immerses them in "parliamentary procedure". The group of boys in this docu spend a few weeks on the grounds of the Texas state capitol, pretending to build & run the platform of one of two imaginary parties - the Nationalists and the Federalists. I suppose the names hark back to when Texans wore their feelings of self-determination closer to the surface, but the idea (of either party's platform reflecting this historical secessionist struggle) is barely detectable here. You get what you get: a bunch of 16- to 19-year-olds playing at politics. It's embarrassing, but it's sometimes surprising. The reality is, actual American politics aren't any more developed than this, or any less adolescent.
The movie knows what's worth watching - it focuses on 4 boys in particular, two of them running for "governor" and two of them chairing their respective parties. All 4 are somewhat more fascinating than you suspect. The entire project is nauseating, but at least these 4 render it watchable.