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"Welcome to the world of real estate, where the golden rule always is "A.B.C." Always Be Closing. This means, lie, cheat, steal, whatever. As long as you get a signature on the dotted line, nothing else matters. And times aren't the greatest for the salesmen at Premiere Properties. None of them are getting the good leads that they need in order to close. And if they don't start closing soon, they're going to find themselves out of the job. There are the "Glengarry" leads, but they're reserved for closers only. And this heated-up and emotional drama gets even more deeper when it turns out that the next day the office was broken into and the Glengarry leads were stolen. In a business where lying, cheating, and stealing all are in a day's work, everyone is suspect."

-- An Online Reviewer

We love the work of playwright/script write David Mamet -- and not just because he's a fellow Chicagoan. Mamet has his ear to the ground of the cadence and rhythm of the American idiom. He weaves hypnotic dialogue out of conventional language, including profanity.

What makes "Glengarry Glen Ross" important for BuzzFlash readers is how one can look at the interaction of the real estate brokers, dramatic heirs to Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," are in many ways metaphors for the Rovian brand of packaging politics and policy.

As the above online reviewer noted, "This means, lie, cheat, steal, whatever. As long as you get a signature on the dotted line, nothing else matters." As the Bush Administration showed us in the deceitful run up to the Iraq War and the Congressional powers that it was granted, "it's all about closing."

And what a cast in this cinematic version of Mamet's play: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris. Wow!

This is a classic cinematic adaptation from the 90's in a 10th anniversary edition that includes two DVDs.

The real estate office in which "Glengarry Glen Ross" takes place is the cheezy, downscale version of what we imagine the dynamics in Dick Cheney's office are probably like, as well as Rove's shop.

Remember, if you don't close the deal, you lose. If you don't close, there is no "victory."

Remind you of anybody?

If the political metaphor is a stretch, looking at the goings on in Mamet's real estate office is clearly representative of the corporatizing of America. Individuals are just cogs in the machine. They have no dignity or value beyond how they meet the demands of the corporate meat grinder.

But first of all, Mamet is a playwright with the ear of a poet, who transforms the language of everyday life into a fascinating tapestry of sounds.

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