The small town of Waterford, Vermont is normally a nice quiet town. That's until director Walt Price (William H. Macy) turns up with his film crew, after having had to leave another small town in something of a hurry. The dirty dealing, corrupt film crew breeze into town, expecting to find a bunch of local bumpkins they can manipulate. But it turns out that these bumpkins can give as good as they get.
Director David Mamet has written 31 films, and directed 9. So he has a pretty good grasp on how Hollywood works. He uses this to good effect in this film, a frequently vicious satire of Hollywood. The production rapidly becomes a comedy of errors. Mamet's previous comedy, Wag the Dog, was a much subtler piece. State and Main tends towards more straightforward laughs. But the satire is as strong as ever. The 'stars' of the film, Sarah Jessica Parker and Alec Baldwin, don't really have a chance to shine. But the screen writer, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, really steals the film in his scenes. An intelligent comedy with a sharp edge.