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Released in 2004 and directed by “Grumpy Old Men” director Donald Petrie, “Welcome to Mooseport” is an attempt at political satire that fails on just about every level. The film tells the story of ex-President Monroe “Eagle” Cole (Gene Hackman) as he retires to his hometown of Mooseport, Maine. After he moves back, he is quickly embroiled in the small town’s local politics and is convinced to run for mayor against rival and hardware store owner Harold “Handy” Harrison, played by Ray Romano.
Not only was “Welcome to Mooseport” a box office bomb (via Box Office Mojo), it was a critical failure too. William Arnold, in his review for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, praised Hackman’s performance as the put-upon ex-prez whose competitive spirit gets the best of him but eviscerated the writing.
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“Unfortunately, the quality of the writing is nowhere near the standard of Hackman’s performance,” wrote Arnold, “and the movie around him –- which is much closer to Adam Sandler than ‘Bulworth’ –- too often substitutes sight gags involving geriatric nudity and fornicating canines for wit.” Arnold also singled out Romano’s performance as especially amateurish. So while the veteran actor’s performance may have been solid, the fact remains that “Welcome to Mooseport” is to this day one of the worst movies Gene Hackman ever made.
