The Front Runner

I can’t recall being as angry at a protagonist as I was watching former Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) foolishly throw away the opportunity to be president of the United States for an alleged adulterous affair. The Front Runner chronicles the three weeks during the 1988 election when the senator from Colorado (whose rumors of infidelity had circulated for years) imploded his career by inviting Miami Herald reporters to follow him around to see what an uninteresting life he led. They discovered that Donna Rice (Sara Paxton) was flying from Miami to meet him in Washington, D.C., which led to the unearthing of that infamous photo of Rice sitting on Hart’s lap near the Monkey Business yacht. When the subsequent scandal caused Hart to withdraw his presidential bid, it signified a new era in predatory political reporting. Previously, the press had ignored the extramarital affairs of FDR, JFK, and Lyndon Johnson. Years later, Bill Clinton would survive a similar scandal. Director Jason Reitman’s film captures the moment when “politics went tabloid,” creating the celebrity culture surrounding the presidency, with Trump becoming the logical endpoint. But even an actor as appealing as Jackman cannot make Hart a palatable character. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by co-writer/director Jason Reitman, producer Helen Estabrook, production designer Steve Saklad, costume designer Danny Glicker, and cinematographer Eric Steelberg, “The Unmaking of a Candidate” behind-the-scenes featurette (16 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven biopic.] (S. Granger)