Welcome to Mooseport
Monroe Cole (Gene Hackman), retired as President of the United States and recently separated from his wife, decides to spend his remaining days in the town of Mooseport, Maine. The town leadership sees the need for a new mayor and ultimately decides Cole would be the perfect man for the job. His competition for the job is from Handy Harrison (Ray Romano), the plumber and hardware store owner. Harrison has great respect for Cole until he asks out Harrison's girlfriend, Sally (Maura Tierney). Soon, it becomes an all-out war with Cole's political machine working with full force and Harrison choosing to pick his battles with the ex-President himself.

High expectations killed this movie. It had the idea and the stars, but the end result is disappointing. Many movies have found success extracting humor from political situations or small-town environments, but "Welcome to Mooseport" can't seem to find much success on either account. Romano is a comedian who has been successful in making fun of what he has lived through but it seems if you put him in any other environment, it most likely will be a lost cause. Hackman turns in a nice performance but that's no surprise. The rest of the supporting cast seems wasted, especially Marcia Gay Harden as the President's secretary. Overall, this "comedy's" few genuinely funny scenes can't make up for the predictable fare. 2 stars