Stream It Or Skip It: ‘537 Votes’ on HBO, a Slick-but-Terrifying Account of Florida’s Role in the 2000 Election

537 Votes is the latest film in HBO’s finely curated Liberal Trauma Collection, a series of documentaries detailing numerous threats to American democracy, typically conceptualized and/or aggravated by Republicans (more on those other titles below). This time, Cocaine Cowboys director Billy Corben assembles an account of the horror that was the 2000 election, so anyone triggered by such phrases as “dimpled chads,” “butterfly ballots” and “Brooks Brothers riot” may want to watch Emily in Paris instead.

537 VOTES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: The doc opens with archival footage: Clips of Bill Clinton touting the strength of the economy mingle with kitschy pro-Florida travel-PR video. A countdown to the 2000 election begins — Nov. 11, 1999. Miami’s thriving Cuban-American population results in the election of wunderkind mayor Alex Penelas, a Democrat; Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” soundtracks a montage of his rise to power. Then we get an in-depth recounting of the Elian Gonzalez story — you know, the boy who floated to America and sparked a hugely divisive debate. Where is this going? I thought this was about the Al Gore-v-George W. Bush electoral fiasco? Just you wait.

537 Votes goes into a lot of detail, so I’ll be reductive: Penelas didn’t like how the Clinton administration handled the Gonzalez situation, so he snubbed Gore during a major campaign stop. Lots of Cuban-Americans lean right anyway, but they might’ve followed their hugely popular mayor’s endorsement. Maybe, oh, 538 of them might’ve voted for Gore, maybe. Now it’s Election Day, 2000, and news anchors try to give the whiplash tennis match in Florida a decent play-by-play as an insanely close race comes down to the infamously dong-shaped state. Cue Dan Rather: “Sip it, savor it, cup it, photostat it, underline it in red, press it into a book, put it in an album, hang it on a wall: George Bush is the next president of the United States.” Not quite, Dan. Not quite.

Next, the kerfuffle over Gore retracting his concession. Cue late-night hosts — funny ones and Jay Leno — quipping away. Journalists, analysts and sundry political operatives recant the fallout. We get an interview with Roger Stone, who was involved in the Republican PR effort fighting against the recounts; we reach for the puke bucket, but we smile a little as the chunder launches forth, because Corben officially labels him “Republican dirty trickster.” Officials were flummoxed by an unprecedented situation, and making up procedure on the fly. As everything came down to hand-tallying questionable ballots in Miami-Dade county, democracy was pretty much subverted. And then, Corben implores us to VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE in 2020.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: HBO’s America Erodes: The Death of Democracy (note: name is not official) series also includes The Swamp, Agents of Chaos, After Truth, Kill Chain and a handful more, which, by chronicling the way-too-many disturbing truths about our country’s socio-political dysfunction, fit perfectly into the pre-Halloween horror-movie season.

Performance Worth Watching: When asked a particularly troubling question, lawyer and lobbyist Al Cardenas sweats and squirms and stammers, much to our amusement.

Memorable Dialogue: “While Democrats were sitting around trying to figure out how to do the right thing, Republicans were figuring out how to win.” — TV journalist Mark Sanchez

Sex and Skin: None, unless you count democracy being f—ed. (Apologies if I’ve used this line in other reviews of HBO documentaries.)

Our Take: Here’s 537 Votes‘ terror line less than two weeks before the presidential election: “Close elections can be stolen.” Thanks for the additional anxiety, Corben! Can you cover the copay for my Ambien prescription?

And here’s a knee-jerk reaction: F— Florida. The doc shows footage of Bugs Bunny using a handsaw to cut the Nation’s Wang from the mainland so it can float away forever, which is the perfect foundation for the BUGS 2024 presidential campaign.

My relative levity is in the spirit of Corben’s doc, which clips along at an entertaining pace and turns an upsetting story into comic tragedy. You likely haven’t seen this saga told with such crisp clarity before. He throws all the right jerks and Bush cronies and combinations thereof under the bus, then swoops in at the end with a possibly almost convincing and too-rosy what-if-Gore-was-elected scenario and an urge to votevotevote, because each and every one counts. Except when it doesn’t, apparently. Then he gives Stone the last word, in case you didn’t quite fill your vom bag the first time — and because his kind have had the last word for the last four years.

Our Call: STREAM IT. 537 Votes is as slick and amusing as a real-life horror story gets.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream 537 Votes on HBO Max

Stream 537 Votes on HBO Now