The Front Runner Review
R: Language including some sexual references
Sony, Columbia Pictures, Stage 4 Films, BRON Studios, Right of Way Films
1 Hr and 52 Minutes
Dir: Jason Reitman | Writers: Matt Bai, Jason Reitman, Jay Carson
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J. K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Sara Paxton, Mamoudou Athie, John Bedford Lloyd, Bill Burr, Kaitlyn Dever, Molly Ephraim, Josh Brener, Mike Judge, Kevin Pollak, Ari Graynor
Dos Jason Reitman films in one year? Is this Christmas? To be honest, I didn’t know anything about “The Front Runner” until the day the first trailer dropped. When I saw the trailer I thought, “Okay, this looks like a good Oscar contender and a nice reflection of politics today.” Shit, they had the gall to open this ON ELECTION DAY! No other movie has done this before so it's only fitting that “The Front Runner” (or, as Bill Burr calls it, FRONT RUNNAH!) is the political drama to do it. Boy was I wrong.
The film follows the rise and fall of Senator Hart, who captured the imagination of young voters and was considered the overwhelming front runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was sidelined by the story of an extramarital relationship with Donna Rice. As tabloid journalism and political journalism merged for the first time, Senator Hart was forced to drop out of the race – events that left a profound and lasting impact on American politics and the world stage.
Before Anthony Weiner tweeted a pic of his John, before Bill Clinton cheated on Hillary and got impeached, there was Senator Gary Hart who was so close to becoming the Democratic nominee for the presidential race of ‘88. One of the best things that Reitman does is put you in the front seat of his presidential campaign. When the film kicks off, you’re thrown right into the epicenter of Hart’s campaign and it immerses you into the experience. Campaigning is hard work and Reitman perfectly captures it. You see every aspect of Hart’s run from all fronts. You see his life on screen, off screen, and behind the scenes. The first act is powerful and the steadily-built momentum is set up well, for it also shows how much strain this election puts on Hart. In the midst of a montage of his campaign travels you see Hart make a face similar to his portrayer when he saw James Franco receive a Golden Globe for “The Disaster Artist”:
This indicates that he’s about to snap and make some poor decisions. Even when the ball drops and this scandal breaks out, you’re never out of the loop. You’re never lost, not even for a second, thanks to Reitman’s direction. I appreciated how it transitioned into a political “Game of Thrones” because everyone is getting betrayed and you can’t attach yourself to anyone, from the politicians to the mistress to the different outlets... Anyone can get screwed at any given moment for the sake of Hart’s campaign and it gets genuinely unnerving at times.
While Jackman delivers a solid performance, albeit not being anything noteworthy, the one who stood out the most for me was Vera Farmiga as Hart’s wife, Lee Hart. She has a moment where she makes Gary feel like garbage (as he should) and you feel that sting with the delivery of her dialogue.
I’m just going to start off by saying that this movie actively pissed me off, not for its major flaws, but because of the depiction of journalism. While Spielberg’s “The Post” was a love letter to investigative journalism and freedom of the press, this is the polar antithesis that says “fuck the press.” The film is actively unsure on who it wants you to side with, the campaign or the journalists, but it mostly sides with the former. They often depict the journalists as the bad guys and it’s really offensive, all things considered, especially since the marketing wants this to be a middle finger to politics today. By the time the scandal breaks, the film depicts the press as leeches and paparazzi when there is much more to reporting than that. Even Hart refers to them as “these people” as if they’re a minority group, yet the film forces you to love the guy.
They show how decent of a guy Gary Hart is when the cameras are on, but then depict a problematic candidate with a short fuse when they’re not rolling. Still, the film often makes you like him and sympathize with him. After he does something terrible, he makes up for it with his charm. There’s a random moment where Hart calms down the nerves of a journalist during airplane turbulence and it’s a sweet and tender moment. Side note: I would pay all the money in the world for Hugh Jackman to speak softly to me while I’m going through turbulence in the air.
With a story as crazy as this, you would expect a style to match it as well. A style somewhere along the lines of Martin Scorsese, David O’ Russell, or even Adam McKay who is doing that with “Vice” in December would’ve been excellent. Yet, Jason Reitman brings a very tame approach to the story. The film just walks the line as a typical political drama and that's it. Even the screenwriters ultimately punk out from going in depth with Hart as a person. The reason why Jackman’s performance is average is because the writing for him is average. There are witty moments of humor, primarily set by his campaign team, but even their jokes aren’t that funny. This desperately needed a Diablo Cody touch script-wise because when she puts her finger on the pages, you get a story with identity. There is a story present, but nothing of substance, and what is there is unsure of what it wants to aim for.
The film features a large ensemble but, similar to “The Post”, it becomes more of a who’s who of recognizable cast members than developed characters. Some have powerful scenes and personalities, but sometimes you’re just like, “Hey, is that so-and-so? Is that Ari Graynor? Is that Josh Brener? HOLY SHIT IS THAT MIKE JUDGE?!”
I had to whip out a bingo card for the number of notable faces that kept popping up. By the time Bill Burr came in with that faux mustache, I screamed:
It is haunting how much this dialogue correlates with modern times. Yeah, the movie parallels Donald Trump and his affair with Stormy Daniels, but then there are moments where it hits so close to home that it’s frighteningly relevant. There is a statement where Gary says “People will track something you do 16 years ago and somehow it will stick with you for the rest of your life.” Relate that to the Kavanaugh case that has occurred recently and it’s bizarre, yet those words reflect that incident so accurately. And to think this film’s production was wrapped waaaaay before the testimonies took place. Talk about some serendipitous spookiness.
“The Front Runner” is a very confused political drama that is unsure of what it wants its audience to side with while only laying down a narrative of true events that doesn’t express anything noteworthy.
Well… at least we still have “Tully”.
Rating: 2/5 | 44%
