ROVIN’ AND RAVIN’ WITH MIKE
Copyright © 2000 by Michael Segers, All rights reserved
Too Sweet for Politics
The
Contender
Laine
Hanson – Joan Allen
Shelly
Runyon – Gary Oldman
Jackson
Evans – Jeff Bridges
Kermit
Newman – Sam Elliot
Reginald
Webster – Christian Slater
Jack
Hathaway – William L. Petersen
Oscar
Billings – Philip Baker Hall
FBI
agent – Kathryn Morris
Jerry
Tolliver – Saul Rubinek
Lewis
Hollis – Mike Binder
Maggie
Runyon – Irene Ziegler
William
Hanson – Robin Thomas
Cynthia
Lee – Mariel Hemingway
Fiona
Hathaway – Kristen Shaw
Directed
and written by Rod Lurie
Rated
R for sexual content, language; runtime, 130 minutes
So, let’s see a show of
hands: who thinks the United States is ready for a vice president who happens to
be a Republican-turned-Democrat, an atheist… a vegetarian… and… a woman?
Now, second show of hands: who can believe that a Republican leader of the house
sponsors a hate-crimes bill? Finally, are you ready to be preached at for most
of a movie that tops out over two hours, with more noble thoughts than one poor
heart or movie can hold?
I try to go into a movie with no
expectations, but I confess, I was looking forward to something better with this
film. It certainly has a lot going for it: politics, sex, gossip, fine dining.
But writer/director Lurie never gets things right. Instead of a tightly paced
political thriller, we get a rather sappy meller-drammer that’s more meller
than drammer.
And more politically correct than
correctly political. Although I proudly proclaim myself a liberal and a
Democrat, I also proclaim myself a believer in fair play, and like Tom
Brokaw’s book Greatest Generation, this movie needs a lesson in equal
opportunity—for Republicans and conservatives. We are expected to cheer a
woman’s advances (amen, a-women), but, doggone it, for all its political
correctness, this is the whitest movie I’ve seen since American Beauty.
Don’t some of these high-ranking white boys at least have a smart young
African-American administrative assistant who does the real work?
The plot has more twists and
tangles than an infamous Atlanta interchange, but the dramatic interest hinges
on the silence of Laine Hanson, who has been selected by the Democratic
president to succeed the recently deceased vice president, as she is accused of
sexual improprieties in college. (Gee, when she ran for senator, no one
remembered the scandal surrounding the governor’s daughter?)
Runyon, her political nemesis,
comes across more interesting, because he does something. Strangely, in a
pro-feminist movie, Hanson in her silence comes across as more passive than
noble. Maybe that’s because we are more accustomed to passive politicians than
noble ones, but Runyon is all quirky energy, driven more by resentment (Hanson
is a turncoat, having changed political parties) than by pure evil (remember
that hate-crimes bill). Perhaps modern politics can’t deal with the concept of
pure evil.
Gary Oldman, by the way, adds a
stunning portrayal to his enigmatic gallery of characters. Unlike actors like
Nicolas Cage and Denzel Washington, whose work I also very much admire,
Oldman’s characters somehow avoid the baggage of Oldman himself. Like Harvey
Keitel, he disappears into an assignment, and on the strength of this film may
be appearing on some lists of nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He
certainly stands out, even in this large and distinguished cast.
I guess I was expecting something
tragic, but in a tragedy, Hanson’s hubris would have led to her downfall. As
the food-obsessed president remarks, "We are no better than they
are." Instead, The Contender feels more like a soap opera. Instead
of insight and honest feeling, Lurie twists his film around yet another
misleading plot device. Instead of character development, we get character tics.
I’m still trying to figure why so much of the film has sports settings. The
president welcomes the senator to the White House bowling alley (and sniffs his
shoes before he puts them on). The senator jogs and shoots hoops. Somebody is
playing golf when he gets some important papers. Maybe, as a late encounter
between the president and Runyon suggests, politics is all just a game. Or,
maybe, these characters are so shallow that they just play at life and don’t
really live it.
This is turning into a whine of a
review as tiresome as the film itself. So, with a nod to this political season,
let’s check out the presence of four presidential candidates on the Internet.
After all, one of them invented it. In alphabetical order, Pat Buchanan, George
W. Bush, Al Gore, and Ralph Nader can be found at—
http://www.gopatgo2000.org
http://www.georgebush.com
http://www.algore.com
http://www.votenader.com
Last week, I
referred to Country Joe McDonald’s list of Vietnam War casualties. This week,
I call to your attention his page about our current election, especially
"Some Differences Between You and the Major Candidates Running for Office
This Year"—
http://www.countryjoe.com/e2000.htm
This week, to provide
a second opinion, I turn to Robert Horton’s review, "A Dubious
Gift." His title refers to the film being written specifically for Joan
Allen, but it may have other implications—
http://film.com/film-review/2000/10013278/18/default-review.html
Keep your feet dry, your
heart full of noble thoughts, and your eyes and ears open for what the real
politicians are doing in our real lives.
The Rovin' and Ravin' Film Reviews