House of Cards: American Style

A brief appreciation for the work of Frank Underwood

There is always a worry that whenever an American production studio or television network adapts a British popular program to States side audiences that the quality will suffer, and, with rare exception, this has proven to be the rule.

The American adaptation of House of Cards is a definite exception to that rule, and it could be argued that the taut, cynical American version is better than its British counterpart. Frank Underwood, superbly played by Kevin Spacey, is a South Carolina congressman who is spurned from a cabinet post in the new Walker administration after being promised one during the campaign. With ruthlessness and efficiency, Underwood, along with his wife Claire and chief of staff Douglas Stamper, wreck havoc on the Walker administration. Whether it is using Congressman Russo and then disposing of him as if tossing aside a napkin, or moving the Vice President aside by convincing the President to have the VP run for his old governor’s office in his home state, thus allowing Frank to maneuver into the slot himself, Underwood shows the audience a character that they can shamelessly live vicariously through as he conducts his evil deeds.

The biggest difference between the American version and the British version is the fact that Brit Francis Urquart seems to have tongue firmly in cheek for most of the series. The same cannot be said for Frank Underwood, who quietly burns for vengeance and takes down his political opponents with a certain grim relish, almost as if he gets off watching his foes fall before him. While Urquart is every bit as upper crust Brit in his role, Underwood is anything but you stereotypical Southern politician. Far from a blowhard, he is more of a behind the scenes orchestrator whose public statements are mostly blunt save for a dash of light Southern charm.