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TV review: 'Run Granny Run'On October 18, 2007 Just your average 94-year-old U.S. Senate candidate
"Granny D" isn't a rapper, but she nearly has the energy and drive of one. HBO's modest, charming documentary, "Run Granny Run," introduces America to New Hampshire's favorite elder stateswoman: Doris "Granny D" Haddock, who at age 89 traversed the country on foot to raise awareness for campaign reform and, in 1994, at age 94, ran a quixotic campaign for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire. Haddock entered the campaign a mere four months before Election Day with no money but a lot of moxie. She went up against the well-oiled and wellfunded machinery of Republican incumbent Judd Gregg, was all but spurned by her Democratic Party, and tooled around the state in a camper trailer reading "Vote Dammit!" across its front. Despite her age - in one scene, she's gasping for breath as she walks from one campaign stop to another; in another, she fumbles through a rehearsal for her debate with Gregg - her grassroots, anti-special-interests platform somehow resonated with some voters. Director/producer Marlo Poras paints an affectionate portrait of Haddock though her campaign clearly flirts with disarray. He even ratchets up the suspense in the build-up to Haddock's debate with Gregg: The night before, she earnestly prays, "Dear God, please don't let me make a fool of myself tomorrow." On the way to debate, she forgets her dentures. Fearing the worse, her campaign manager says he wants to watch the debate with a sandwich, a beer and a ".38 revolver." Haddock doesn't win - this gives away nothing if you follow politics even a bit - but she more than acquits herself nicely. "Run Granny Run" celebrates political idealism and makes you wish more ordinary citizens had "Granny D's" courage and conviction. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 RUN GRANNY RUN  >What: The quixotic senate run of a 94-year-old New Hampshire great-grandmother. >Where: HBO. >When: 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18; also 10:45 a.m. Oct. 20, 12:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. Oct. 24, 5 p.m. Oct. 27. >In a nutshell: Inspiring and charming.  
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