Thursday, November 15, 2018

The Front Runner Movie Review

Hugh Jackman stars in The Front Runner

Monkey Business

Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman stars as the charismatic politician Gary Hart for Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman in the new thrilling drama The Front Runner. 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.


"A lot can happen in three weeks," but that doesn't necessarily translate into something interesting. Reitman's The Front Runner is dark, dated and tiresome, despite its sexy/sordid subject matter and timely (post-election) release. Jackman (who looks like he's about to turn into Wolverine at any moment) spends most of the movie inexplicably tight-lipped, except for a few scenes where he pontificates over "the sanctity of this project." Bor-ing. His character turns out to be a listless jerk with zero remorse, who concedes the best line of the film, "I like his positions" to Sara Paxton's Rice. Why even bother?

Grade: D