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Ahhh, Washington Politics. Intrigue, deceit, lying, bad judgment, all the ingredients for a great movie, preferably a comedy though. But in this case, the film The Contender, it is a suspense drama centering on the appointment of a new Vice President after the elected one dies. The Contender starts with Governor Jack Hathaway (William L. Petersen, The Skulls) trying to save a driver after she drove off a bridge into a river. His rescue attempt fails, but he is considered a hero nonetheless. Despite the positive press surrounding the governor, President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski) wants to leave a legacy by having a female VP. So the President nominates Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen, Pleasantville) for the job. However the House of Representatives is in charge of confirming the nomination, and it is controlled by the opposing party of the President, the Republicans. The leader of the House is Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman, Lost in Space) and he doesn’t like the nominee, but does like the Governor. So Shelly looks for ways to shoot down the nomination of Laine Hanson so that she will step aside and Governor Jack Hathaway can step in. Shelly isn’t alone in this process, so he and his henchmen unleash a sex scandal from Laine Hanson’s college days as well as revealing some controversy over her marriage. Shelly and the Republicans go after her everyway they can. But what is the truth when it comes to DC politics? This film has a very good cast and a captivating story. Writer/director Rod Lurie did a good job writing the film and then executing it. Plus the cast put in marvelous performances, especially Joan Allen. Others in the film include Christian Slater, Sam Elliot, Robin Thomas, Mariel Hemingway, Mike Bender, Philip Baker Hall, and Kathryn Morris. All together a very intriguing and entertaining film. However it was also rather predictable, which I tend not to like when it comes to suspense movies. So for the About-Movies.com rating, I give The Contender eight couches out of ten. Tootles.
Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:50:01 AM Click Here to get back into frames.
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