This little-seen political comedy marks a first - the first production of Paquin Films, headed-up by the innately gifted Oscar-winning actress Anna Paquin (who also stars) and her brother Andrew. The direct-to-video status alone makes it feel like a surprising and defeatist turn from an actress-cum-producer of Paquin's stature. But the question lingers: does the film deserve its dour fate?
Yes and no. Blue State culls inspiration from an interesting and unusual phenomenon that transpired in late 2004, when (according to The New York Times), an untoward number of Americans grew so disgusted with George W. Bush's reelection (and John Kerry's defeat) that they made good on election night promises by packing their bags and high-tailing it to Canada - vocally paying homage, through their actions, to the thousands of American citizens who defected to Canada in the late '60s and early '70s to dodge the Vietnam-era draft. The story thus hones in on John Logue (Breckin Meyer), a committed "political activist" who does just that: makes a drunken vow in-between beers on election eve regarding citizenship in "The Great White North" and decides to keep it. In the process, he finds himself at the mercy of a nutty Canadian female webmaster who runs a site called, "Marry a Canadian.ca," and (for reasons never made explicitly clear, but that we can surmise from Paquin's desire to be in the movie) decides to advertise for a "traveling partner." Lo and behold, he finds one: a blue-haired, rebellious girl named Chloe (Paquin) who just happens to be physically attractive, intelligent and witty, and whose personality meshes cleanly with his own. (No awards for guessing what happens next).
Admittedly, the film as a whole never sinks below the level of enjoyable, thanks in no small part to the winning presence of Meyer and Paquin - who exhibit satisfying and genial chemistry together - and the hip, inventive dialogue of writer-director Marshall Lewy's script. Lewy scores highest when he decides to pull offbeat punches with quirky, unusual characterizations - such as the said webmaster (depicted as not only unscrupulous and scheming but sociopathically man-hungry) and the presence of a gun-wielding Afro-Canadian revolutionary who tries to lure Chloe into a cracked plot to assassinate Dubya.
These moments are few and far between, however, and the picture grows thin in hindsight because it appears far too schematic and too simplistic, and is a little too content to play by the rules. In retrospect, it lacks the spontaneity and unpredictability of everyday life. We can guess, from the first few scenes, that John will ultimately experience a change of heart about his desire to abandon the country, and (when Chloe makes her initial appearance) we know with surefire certainty that the two will fall in love. Lewy deserves credit for presenting a couple with a politically-driven relationship (a mature choice), and for building a credible character arc exhibited via John's burgeoning political consciousness, but the product of it - the conclusion that true political activism and patriotism are intertwined, and entail sticking with one's country and working aggressively for change from within - feels about as deep as a child's wading pool. Moreover, Lewy presents this idea in such a didactic and ham-handed manner that the final act practically beats the audience over the head and makes a dangerous lunge into "message movie" territory.
Blue State may be thoroughly amiable, but its affability and its ease are its core problems: a contemporary comedy with insights into 21st century politics should at least respect the intelligence of its audience enough to present ambiguities and complexities, in lieu of hitting us with a black and white textbook case where we need only "select the proper answer." Paquin sports an astonishing amount of talent as an actress and a producer, but she can do much better than this piece of fluff - a formulaic rom-com that lies far beneath her.