This New England

The American Ruling Class, a movie made during 2005, during the last Wall Street boom, is the story of two young men, one desirous of immediately making a mint on Wall Street, the other drawn to Art (for a while).

This musical comedy/tragedy documentary, directed by John Kirby, now looks like a dramatization of American life that will last.

Written and MC'ed by Lewis Lapham, the former editor of Harper's Magazine, it is filled with celebrities, some speaking wisely and others making fools of themselves. There are the likes of former Secretary of State James Baker, former Brown President Vartan Gregorian, folk singer Pete Seeger, writer Kurt Vonnegut and others introduced by the smoky-voiced Mr. Lapham. New York City, rich, leafy Connecticut suburbs, Texas and Hollywood are the venues, and the music is American at its most evocative.

You can see this sometimes very funny and sometimes very sad film on TV at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday Oct. 20 on the Sundance Channel.

 Tags  James Baker John Kirby Kurt Vonnegut Lewis Lapham Pete Seeger The American Ruling Class Vartan Gregorian

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