Trent Lott surprised a lot of people last week on Meet the Press with his Oscar pick. Asked by Tim Russert, "Who's going to win the Oscars?" Lott replied, "Well, I saw The Cider House Rules. I enjoyed that tremendously. . . . It was great. Best movie."
Now movies are entertainment, and it's juvenile to impart political meaning to every niggling little film. But The Cider House Rules, adapted by John Irving from his novel of the same name, is an unabashed amicus brief for abortion, and not the middle-of-the-road "safe, legal, and rare" type either. In fact, it's so over the top that just hours after Lott proclaimed his affection for the movie, Irving was awarded the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and, in his acceptance speech, thanked both Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Action League. Memo to Lott staff: Make sure the boss doesn't recommend MTV's Undressed for an Emmy.