Taking on the Kennedys

Running time: N/A

Kevin Vigilante is a very impressive individual. Not only did he work his way through medical school, become a physician, and join the faculty at Brown, he also founded an inner-city clinic for women with the HIV virus. In spite of being politically unschooled, Vigilante seemed like the perfect candidate when he decided to run for a Rhode Island congressional seat in 1994. After all, he was smart, honorable, and dedicated. He only faced one small obstacle -- an opponent named Kennedy. Taking on the Kennedys isn't a film about the nobility of ideas or representation as a public trust or the importance of civic involvement. It's about what happens when a political neophyte decides to run for office, hoping he might do a little good, and steps in front of a gold-plated dynastic juggernaut that still thinks Camelot is something more than just a Broadway musical. By the way, if you're wondering who won: Kevin Vigilante is back working at the clinic he founded, as well as crusading for a new cause -- human rights in the Sudan; his opponent is expected to run for the U.S. Senate in the year 2000. --John Porter