''Man With A Plan'' is an independently produced

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

released in 1996, starring

dairy farmer Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

and actor

Fred Tuttle Frederick Herman Tuttle (July 18, 1919 – October 4, 2003) was an American dairy farmer, actor, United States Army veteran of World War II, and Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Vermont in 1998. He lived in Tunbridge all ...

as himself in a fictional story that finds him running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Since its release, it has remained a local

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Many details of the film can be read as poking fun at certain public figures and groups in Vermont; for example, Fred describes himself as being affiliated with the "Regressive Party," a clear reference to the

Vermont Progressive Party The Vermont Progressive Party, formerly the Progressive Coalition, is a progressive political party in the United States founded in 1999 and active only in the state of Vermont. As of 2019, the party has two members in the Vermont Senate and se ...

. The fictional incumbent Representative William Blachly also bears a definite resemblance to Vermont Senator

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who is the senior United States senator from Vermont and serves as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

. Parts of the film also satirizes American politics in ways that the voice-over narration makes explicit—for example, it is made very clear at the beginning of the film that Fred's main reason in running for office is that he lacks the skills, strength, and education for any other job that would be lucrative enough to pay his father's costly medical bills. It is also made obvious during the campaign section of the film that Fred's victory is entirely the result of his charisma and charm, rather than of any amount of political savvy or wisdom. Tuttle would go on to run for a seat in the United States Senate in 1998. He won the Republican nomination but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Senator

, whom Tuttle famously endorsed.

References

External links

*
BBC News Article: Fred Tuttle

New York Times review
American political comedy films American political drama films American mockumentary films 1996 films Films set in Vermont Films about elections 1996 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-comedy-drama-film-stub