A Great Dramatic Telling of a Classic American Scandal

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2008)

Herb Stempel (John Turturro) is America's everyman, with the exception that he knows everything. The star of "Twenty One", he is asked to take a dive in exchange for a new contestant -- a more handsome Gentile with a notable family. He does take the dive, but soon regrets it and calls the local district attorney to investigate. Next, Congress gets involved and things snowball from there.
Based on a true story, this was well before my time (1957-1959). But the idea is timeless... a heroic Congressional staffer who stands up to power to keep things honest for the American people. America needs more idealists like Dick Goodwin. And the story, which sells itself, is made even better with this stellar cast: John Turturro, a grossly under-rated actor playing Herb. Ralph Fiennes as Charles VanDoren. Dick Goodwin played by Rob Morrow (Joel Fleischman on "Northern Exposure"), whose name is unfortunately not well known in film -- he really grabs the reins of this picture. Hank Azaria also appears, and Robert Redford directs. Martin Scorsese, Calista Flockhart and Ethan Hawke cameo.
I've seen some complaints that the historical accuracy is a bit off on this one, but as near and I can tell it's about 95% right. And, folks, it's a movie. Entertainment. As Redford observes, if it was to be 100% accurate, he'd make a documentary and not a drama. Certainly there's some irony to all this -- a film accused of distorting the truth for entertainment being about a game show distorting the truth for entertainment. But, you know, I never felt deceived -- anyone who enters a movie "based on a true story" who expects perfection is grossly naive.
I could go on and say how well-done the sets and costumes were for making this appear appropriate to the time, or how much I enjoyed the portrayal of VanDoren's father. But the important part is this: the film was nominated for multiple Oscars, and this is one case where it deserved to win the ones it was nominated for. A powerful film -- engaging, dramatic and suspenseful. Like "The Insider" or "Thank You For Smoking" for the entertainment industry, a far less obvious sinister force than Big Tobacco.