'The Front Runner' chronicles Gary Hart's last presidential campaign
Gary Hart was the favorite to win the Democratic nomination for president in 1988 until a sex scandal knocked him from contention. 鈥淭he Front Runner,鈥� which is directed by Jason Reitman from a script by himself, Jay Carson, and Matt Bai and stars Hugh Jackman as Hart, posits the exposure of Hart鈥檚 indiscretions in the press as the kickoff for where we are today in a political world reveling in revelations of personal calumny. It鈥檚 a debatable thesis, but at least the filmmakers don鈥檛 rub in the contemporary parallels. We can all too easily supply them for ourselves.
Jackman, sporting a distracting, Hart-like brown hairpiece, seems miscast. He doesn鈥檛 convincingly convey this politician鈥檚 swagger and slickness, and Reitman鈥檚 attempts to mimic a loose-limbed political movie in the style of, say, Robert Altman鈥檚 鈥淭anner '88鈥� series or 鈥淭he Candidate鈥� are rather leaden. It鈥檚 a film that鈥檚 less interesting to watch than to discuss afterward. Grade:聽C+ (Rated R for language including some sexual references.)
