By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Remember when Glenn Close & Amy Adams played J.D. Vance's family in a Razzie-nominated movie?
While Hillbilly Elegy is a terrible film, Vance would be an even worse Vice President.
Most of us weren't going to the movies in 2020, but if you did, you might have seen Netflix's film Hillbilly Elegy, starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams.
If you haven't, we can't exactly recommend it. The Ron Howard movie is rated "rotten" on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes, with just 25 percent of critics giving it a positive review. But it does hold a strangely significant place in today's culture: the subject of the film, J.D. Vance, is currently Donald Trump's running mate to be Vice President.
The film stars Adams as Vance's mother and Close as his grandma, telling the story of how Vance, who grew up in Ohio and Kentucky, made it to law school. Along the way, he struggles to escape the problems caused by his drug-addicted mother and complicated family.
In The New Yorker's review of the film, Richard Brody wrote that it "evinces the same politically regressive ideas at the core of Vance's memoir" and that the film is "a libertarian's fantasy." Entertainment Weekly gave it an F and titled its review "Hillbilly Elegy is a horrific showcase for miserable overacting."
Still, awards voters love a bit of inspiration porn, and the movie was nominated for two Oscars: one for Best Makeup and Hairstyling and one for Close Best Supporting Actress.
However, the movie also received three Golden Raspberry nominations for Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Supporting Actress for Close.
While the film ignores most of Vance's politics aside from his belief that poverty is caused by "defeatism, self-sabotage, and learned helplessness," as Vulture's review says, Vance's views cannot be swept aside.
Vance, who is from Ohio, was elected to the Senate not so long ago in 2022, but he already has a strong anti-LGBTQ+ record.
In the Senate, Vance introduced a bill called the Protect Children's Innocence Act, which is actually just a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors. The law, which has not passed yet, would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming healthcare for minors, resulting in up to 15 years in prison.
In 2022, he tweeted: "I'll stop calling people 'groomers' when they stop freaking out about bills that prevent the sexualization of my children," referring to LGBTQ+ people.
His atrocious record doesn't stop at anti-LGBTQ+ stances, either. Vance has said that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are "a destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division" that "has no place in our federal government or anywhere else in our society."
Vance also is staunchly anti-choice, opposing abortion in all circumstances unless the pregnant person's life is threatened, and has vowed to support a national ban on the procedure.
While Hillbilly Elegy may be a terrible movie, Vance would undoubtedly make an even worse Vice President...
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
