The Contender

Plot synopsis:
Second-term Democratic U.S. President Jackson Evans must select a new Vice President following the sudden death of his previous vice president. The obvious choice seems to be Virginia Governor Jack Hathaway, who is hailed as a hero after he recently dove into a lake in a failed attempt to save a drowning girl. The President instead decides that his "swan song" will be helping to break the glass ceiling by nominating Laine Hanson, a talented Democratic senator from Ohio. In accordance with the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, approval from both houses of Congress is required. Standing in her way is Republican Congressman Sheldon Runyon of Illinois, who believes she is unqualified for the position, and backs Hathaway for the nod. His investigation into her background turns up an incident where she was apparently photographed participating in a drunken orgy as part of a sorority initiation. He is joined in his opposition by Democratic Representative Reginald Webster.
The confirmation hearings begin in Washington, D.C., and Runyon, who chairs the committee, quickly addresses Hanson's alleged sexual imbroglio. Hanson refuses to address the incident, neither confirming nor denying anything, and tries to turn the discussion towards political issues. Anticipating that Hanson would deem her personal past "none of anyone's business," Runyon starts rumors in the media saying that the sexual escapade in college was done in exchange for money and favors, making it prostitution.
Hanson meets with Evans and offers to withdraw her name, to save his administration more embarrassment. Despite the wishes of the administration, she refuses to fight back or even address Runyon's charges, arguing that to answer the questions dignifies them being asked in the first place—something she does not believe. Evans meets with Runyon, informing him he will not choose Hanson as Vice President. Runyon casually brings forward Hathaway as a replacement. They make an agreement that Runyon will back down on his attacks if Evans chooses Hathaway as Vice President. However, Evans requests Runyon to make a public statement defending Hathaway.
Hanson, Hathaway and Runyon are all invited to the White House. Evans then shocks them by showing a FBI report that proves Hathaway paid the woman to drive off the bridge into the lake, part of a plan to increase his approval ratings. Hathaway is arrested and Runyon is disgraced because he vouched for Hathaway's integrity just hours earlier. Evans meets with Hanson, and she finally tells what actually happened that night in college. She said that she did indeed arrive at a fraternity house to have sex with two men as part of an initiation, but changed her mind before any sex occurred. However, she did not prove her innocence, citing that by doing so will further the idea that it was acceptable to ask the questions in the first place. Evans addresses Congress, where he chastises all Democrats and Republicans who blocked Hanson's confirmation. He explicitly calls out Runyon, who leaves in humiliation. Although he declares that Hanson had asked for her nomination to be withdrawn so he could finish his presidency with triumph over controversy, he remains adamant and calls for an immediate confirmation vote. Congress applauds.

Tags: romantic, mystery

Review:
The film examines political figures and their stand of such controversial issues like abortion, infidelities, and even Clinton's impeachment trial, making this production feel real, as if a behind the scenes look at a sex scandal in Washington DC because it is so well written and portrayed.
As the film opens, the country's vice president has recently died, leaving Democratic President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges), who is near the end of his final term, choosing a vice president for replacement.
Instead, Evens wants to leave a legacy by selecting a woman as vice president, thus chooses a Senator who currently shifted from the Republican party to the Democratic party, Laine Hanson (Joan Allen).
The Republican confirmation committee chairman, Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman), thinks Evans' choice to be self-dignified and inaccurate, and desires Hathaway to take the place of the vice president.
Gary Oldman is perfect with a sly, cunningly cocky and self-confident performance that fits his character extremely well; there is a very real possbility his work will be remembered come Academy Award time.
"The Contender" succeeds to a high degree because it makes us to examine our own beliefs and possible reactions to such a pragmatic issue;  would we, as individuals, want a vice-president who is a sleaze ball, or as a character puts it "with a mouth full of c*ck." What makes the film even more extraordinarily enthralling is that it never until the end reveals whether Laine actually did participate in the immoral acts.
Although this movie doesn't want to make a certain (moral) statement, I loved the following quote by Joan Allen's character: "Principles only mean something when you stick to them when its inconvenient." 9/10.
And the movie is all the better for this clarity and honesty.Jeff Bridges is well cast as Jackson Evans, a President every bit as charismatic and opportunistic as Bill Clinton.
(One mistake in the script is a direct reference to the Clinton impeachment vote; it is dangerous for parodies or satires to refer to the true stories on which they are based - it leads to a dislocation in the audience's point of view, and in this case to the awkward question - if this is a post-Clinton Democrat President, and he's coming to the end of his second term, in just what year is the action supposed to be taking place?!)Given the White House shenanigans in recent years, it is surprising that some IMDb commenters should question the plausibility of the plot, which I feel stretches our credulity no further than most Hollywood thrillers.
Joan Allen as vice-Presidential nominee Laine Hanson, and Gary Oldman as Shelly Runyon, her would-be character assassin, have strong parts and make the most of them - though personally I think it is Bridges' movie - but there is perhaps a little too much of Christian Slater in a curious role as Reginald Webster, a young, liberal, but seemingly anti-feminist, Democrat Congressman.
Overall, this is a fast-moving, enjoyable film, making the points that petty personal indiscretions should have little influence when it comes to power politics, and that it's about time the USA had a woman as President or at least a heart beat away..
President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) makes his choice:  Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), who would be the first woman in history to hold the position.
Lurie allows only a single lapse into melodrama (patriotic music begins to swell about half-way through Hanson's final speech), but the closing speech by President Evans is impeccably delivered with force and strength, and his words are exhilarating; how satisfying it is to hear things said that must and should be said, if only in the movies.
A plethora of actors here making great performances - Sam Elliot, William Petersen, Christian Slater - who hasn't done much since, nor much in the few years prior, and of course Oldman who I could not recognize for a good portion of the flick - kudos to the producers for leaving the cast till the end, I had the benefit of not reading publicity on the film which kept me guessing and enriched the experience.
Although I intensely appreciated this movie, I do not believe this could have been an oscar-winning film because the truths it expresses with regards to the presence of women in high ranking political positions far outway its acting and directing talents, with the possible exception of Gary Oldman's role as Shelly Runyon, who was frighteningly convincing at being an absolutely awful man.
Of course, the other refreshing aspect in this movie is Jeff Bridges' role as an ideal president.All in all, it is a long overdue account of reality, with great character development but not recommended for those with short attention spans, as it is dialogue, and lots of it..
I looked forward to seeing this movie because I admire the work of Jeff Bridges, Sam Elliott, Gary Oldman and Joan Allen.
"The Contender," however, goes out of its way to do the exact opposite.Near the beginning of the movie,Laine Hanson (an ubelieveably saintly Republican-turned-Democrat) is speaking to her father, a retired Republican Governor, whom the filmmakers gratuitously have chide his grandchild for his kindergarten teacher's having mentioned Jesus in the classroom.
The one person who expresses a conservative viewpoint is Gary Oldman's character, a political hardball player who during the confirmation hearings is given to snarling at this poor woman for supporting a "holocause" of "unborn babies." The cliches are fast and furious.
Gary Oldman and Joan Allen deliver great performances, though, and if this movie is worth seeing at all, it is just to see two great actors practicing their craft..
"The Contender" is the very worst sort of heavy-handed and trite propaganda, that twists reality for it's own highly suspicious purposes.Made shortly after the Clinton-Lewinksy scandals, the plot re-imagines a similar White House scandal, but centered around a female Vice Presidential candidate (a capable and always interesting Joan Allen, wasted here) who may have participated in an orgy while a college student.
The heroic Democrats are flat, one-note hero's, given to making stirring speeches.The politics of the film is so extreme and one-sided that it left me scratching my head.
Her character is accused of participating in a orgy -- a phony accusation which she can easily disprove with a few words -- yet her refusal to do this is the basis for the entire film.Sadly, the underlying ideas (how much of a political candidates personal life is legitimately worth of scrutiny and how much is entitled to be private?) is a very valid idea to discuss.
It comes across as a lot of rather sad and deluded boosterism for political causes which are increasingly defeated at the polls by the voting public....."The Contender" is entirely out of touch with contemporary politics and it really has nothing worthwhile to say about Clinton, Ken Star or Monica Lewinsky, if indeed that was the purpose of all this sturm and drang.I endured this film feeling deeply embarrassed for both Democrats and legitimately liberal causes.
This is a MESSAGE movie...Conservative Republicans BAD, Liberal Democrats GOOD!.
After noticing the oscar nominations for Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges, I thought The Contender would be a pot boiler political thriller, instead it was by far one of the most ridiculous poltical movies ever made that really insults the viewer's intelligence.
Joan Allen's character is supposed to be a recent ex-Republican, but instead becomes a cheerleader of the Democrats and portrays the Republicans as "Evil doers" What the film fails to convey is a two-sided political thriller that portrays both sides of the aisle and let's the viewer makes his own descision.
Want to see a real political film, try Primary Colors, All the President's Men, or Wag The Dog. Leave The Contender to gather dust on the video store shelves where it belongs!
I don't know about anyone else, but it would be a big deal to me if I found out President Obama was involved in orgies during college.This is definitely a movie for those who want politicians to have the power to live terrible personal lives as long as they keep the appearance of being a 'good' politician..
Okay Next subject.The fact that they had to change the appearance of Gary Oldman to make him look and sound like some smarmy conniving evil man going up against the good looking do good President and the poor patriotic vice presidential candidate is so transparently cartoonish good guy bad guy that it's laughable!
You would think thats' just how it has to be, his actions and the way he spoke and carried his role was and is inspirational to me.On the second point, Gary Oldman is a mastering and wise 'player' in his acting and in this as Sheldon "Shelly" Runyon a D.C. political investigator.
Writer/director Rod Lurie's `The Contender' marks a significant advance in both technique and storytelling ability for this fledgling filmmaker over his sole previous cinematic effort, `Deterrence.'  This former L.A. film critic-turned-filmmaker has created a crackerjack political thriller attuned to the temper of its times.
Jeff Bridges stars as President Jackson Evans, a well-meaning, seemingly moral man who, upon the sudden death of his vice president, nominates a woman, Senator Laine Hanson, to be his replacement.
Gary Oldman plays the Republican chairman who will stop at nothing in his efforts to torpedo the nomination, even if that means exposing her rather torrid sexual past for all the world to see (although, in many ways, his obsession with ruining the chances of a candidate he feels to be less qualified in favor of one who is more beloved as a national figure makes little practical sense because wouldn't he, as a member of the rival party, be MORE inclined to support someone he thought would bring trouble to the present administration?)If you can see past the partisan propaganda, you will find `The Contender' to be one of the most riveting films of the past several years.
As the President, seemingly more concerned with ordering up spectacular dishes from the White House kitchen than with the pressing concerns of affairs of state, Jeff Bridges cuts just as believable and compelling a figure.As with virtually all films of a political nature, the characters' actions are occasionally inexplicable within the context of practical politics.
After hearing interviews with Joan Allen and writer/director Rod Lurie, reading scores of good press on the film, and hearing how Steven Spielberg personally told Lurie to "film every word of the script" I was expecting, if not a phenomenal movie, then an exemplary and compelling story.
What I got was a former movie reviewer's 2nd film ("Deterrence" being the first) that lacked energy, flair, a good story, or even great performances.
Add in a so-so performance by a usually exceptional Joan Allen (I blame the writing and the director, not Joan), Christian Slater's "seen his arc coming from a mile away" senator and Jeff Bridges' "I've got no personality" president, and you've got an utterly unwatchable film.
We are supposed to believe the voters would take a direct assault on the Bill of Rights so casually they would elect someone who said that?It's a damn shame the director and writers of this movie decided it was more important to make a propaganda film than a movie for entertainment.Not that the Republicans aren't guilty of sleaze.
This movie was a sad, sad attempt by Hollywood liberals to depict Democrats, women, liberals and atheists as principled, honorable people, and at the same time portray Republicans & religious people as evil, petty and small.It started out with a fairly promising story line, but quickly degenerated into stereotypes and laughable dialogue.
Joan Allen stars as Senator Laine Hanson, nominated to replace the recently deceased Vice President by President Jackson Evans played by Jeff Bridges.
Republican Rep. Shelly Runyon, played by Gary Oldman, is a rival to President Evans and wants another politician nominated, a Southern Democratic.
Worse, her motivations are kept a mystery for most of the film, preventing us from fully sympathizing with her.This movie is a sequence of well delivered political speeches, strung together by a negligible plot and shallow characters.
Happy Gilmore.All of these films have more credibility -- and believability -- than this tripe.I won't go into plot details here, suffice it to say that this ill-researched propaganda piece centers around the nomination of a senator for the position of Vice President of the United States, to assume the post from the recently deceased former veep.I almost made it all the way through this movie.
I thought it was the other way around?A senator who allegedly sleeps with an entire fraternity (as a freshman in college), oh, and also happens to be an atheist, continues to get a ringing endorsement from the president to take over the number-two position, even though a staunch conservative is running her nomination hearing and wants to uncover anything to ensure her failure.THIS IS NOT HOW THE POLITICAL PROCESS WORKS!I know, I know, suspension of disbelief might solve all this, right?
I am a sworn fan of the West Wing, so it's not like I can't appreciate good political fiction, with or without an underlying political message (both this film and TWW have democratic presidents and administrations, and seemingly support those agendas).
Jeff Bridges is impressive in the early scenes as a no-nonsense President, but the final cornball speech sounds like it is delivered by Sylvester Stallone's Judge Dredd.Joan Allen is great, as usual, but she is not talented enough to save this stinking pile of propaganda..
Secondly, the film asks us to believe Joan Allen's character, a U.S. Senator and paragon of moral virtue, is willing to throw away a chance at becoming the first woman to become the vice-president of the United States because she is naive enough to be appalled by the nomination process.
There was one delicious twist near the end of the movie, however, thanks to some good detective work by a female FBI agent (who was awful in her role, by the way) that almost was enough fun to make the $3 rental worth it.Much of the acting wasn't that bad: Joan Allen did well (but hardly Oscar quality); as did Jeff Bridges as the cocky president (in spite of the lameness of his ordering different types of food as a joke on the kitchen staff); Sam Elliot was a believable SOB chief of staff to the prez; and Gary Oldham did a good job as a crotchety, moralistic Republican chairman.
(Note: Almost all of the good guys in the film are Democrats, even eventually Christian Slater who for reasons that are never clear has no problem from the get go cozying up with and conspiring with the other party.)  But the script sucked eggs.Rent it if you wish, but don't expect greatness like I kinda did.
The "surprises" in the film are telegraphed from 200 paces, and worse of all the great plot "twist" was pretty evident from scene one.The final speech by the President made me think that each copy of the DVD should come with its own sick bag, and as sweet as it was, they had to add a rousing old sound track, full orchestra and all.
On top of that, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldham deserve the various acting awards they receive for their performances in this terrific movie..
On the contrary, this movie makes a weak attempt at supporting liberal politics and is a waist of time to watch for both Republicans and Democrats.
And, they will also find some connections to the real life political state with the lead character Laine Hanson (played in possibly the best female lead this year by Joan Allen) in an odd  position.
The performances are just great, and not only Allen, but also Jeff Bridges as the offering President and especially Gary Oldman as the unpleasant GOP congressman villain.
there is nothing here worth spending your time or money on.its very sad because joan allen is a great actress and gary oldman is amazing and i was looking forward to a political thriller that showcased their talents..
And the touching final speech that the president addresses - where he "shows" how honest and good hearted a President can be - is ridiculous.The only reason why I rated this movie with a 4 instead of a 2 is that The Contender can be a bit entertaining if you don't stop to think that they are portraying powerful politicians, maybe the the most despicable of the species that inhabit the earth.
Joan Allen is good, but her character is too good to be true, and Jeff Bridges seems to disappear for the whole middle of the movie.
That's too bad because, in spite of its heavy-handed liberal viewpoints, "The Contender" is an inspiring and well-acted movie about the politically powerful inside the beltway, written and directed by Rod Lurie.
Some of it's under the belt members, who I'm glad they get their just desserts in the end, are out to stop this woman, Laine Hanson (an excellent Joan Allen) from becoming the next vice president, one of them (Gary Oldman who just as good as a terrific Bridges here) doing it for malicious reasons.
He screams from his soapbox in one scene about how abortion is nothing less than a "holocaust of the unborn..." Jeff Bridges plays the President and does a damn fine job of it.The highlight of the film for me though is Sam Elliott's portrayal of Kermit who seems to be the ONLY truly realistic character in the movie.
The performances here are solid and I loved Jeff Bridges as the President, but mostly because his character was the only person in the entire movie that wasn't two dimensional.
I loved the cast, thought the message the film was trying to convey very relevant ( a tad manipulative perhaps but it worked), and the movie had lots of smarts and wild twists of plot.Nevertheless, the film is really naive - if ONLY things would really end like that in real life!