THE CONTENDER
by Peter Keoug
The politics of the '60s and '70s were a lot more exciting and meaningful than
nowadays, and so were the movies about politics. In his two films,
writer/director Rod Lurie has returned to that era, updating Sidney Lumet's
Fail-Safe with his debut, Deterrence, and Otto Preminger's
Advise & Consent (not to mention Alan Pakula's All the
President's Men and a host of others) for his latest, The
Contender.
For a while it seems he might be on to something. Senator Jack Hathaway
(Clinton look-alike William Petersen), who's up for the vice-presidential spot
vacated by the incumbent's sudden demise, seems to have a lock on it when he
almost saves a woman from a submerged car. After congratulating him on his
heroism, however, President Jackson Evans (a shoe-sniffing Jeff Bridges) blows
him off because the incident smacks too much of Chappaquiddick. Now that's
cynical. Later, the candidate of choice, Senator Laine Hanson (a long-suffering
and dull Joan Allen), gets her call from the White House while in flagrante
delicto with a bare-butted guy.
Pretty behind-the-scenes. But not for long. Evans proves to be a pussycat, and
Hanson is married to the man with his slacks around his ankles. That doesn't
stop Evans's arch-enemy, Representative Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman, oddly
resembling Jean-Luc Godard in a performance of lipsmacking malevolence), from
turning up dirt about Hanson's frat-party peccadilloes while she was in
college. Hanson on principle refuses to discuss or defend her past during the
congressional confirmation hearings. It's not a bad premise, but despite a
jangly cinéma-vérité style reminiscent of documentaries
like The War Room, punchy dialogue, and a last minute twist, the film
deteriorates into fustian, vaguely left-of-center flag waving with speeches and
stentorian music. Like the two lightweights fighting for the White House in the
present election, this Contender wouldn't last a round with the real
thing.
| home page |
what's new |
search |
about the phoenix |
feedback |
Copyright © 2000 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. All rights reserved.
|