Die Nominierung

Good overall, but I thought the bathroom scene with 3 ex-lovers discussing their flings in the presence of the candidate's wife was gratuitously tacky and tasteless. Cut that scene, and this would get several more stars. The scene where the candidate waits to the end of his Acceptance Speech to reveal his choice of running mate is unrealistic, but dramatically effective. Tom Selleck is a commanding presence. Robert Culp is cast to type as the somewhat sleazy,untrustworthy chap. Faye Dunaway plays the role of the drunken,neglected wife convincingly. Laura Linney was well cast - as was the film as a whole. Selleck has been good in everything he has been in.

I just watched this film tonight, quite coincidentally at the same time as the votes are being counted for the 2004 US presidential election.

The film concerns the political skullduggery involved in the nominating of a running mate for a Democratic presidential candidate played by an almost unrecognizable Tom Selleck. He is a bit of ladies' man inspiring unwavering devotion from his faithful followers and his legion of loved and discarded women who still work for him and believe in him even after the affair is done (could part of his character be modeled on that last charismatic Democrat president we ask ourselves?).

Laura Linney has a strong part as his clever campaign manager, Teri Hatcher a less showy part as a press secretary, and Faye Dunaway a very showy supporting part (the type of role she excels in these days) as the wife of a senator hoping to get a place on the ticket.

This is not a bad film and quite interesting for anyone interested in politics. It does not withstand comparison to the similar but superior "Primary Colors", but it is still not bad. The cast is good but the heartwarming ending is a little hokey for this hardened cynic.

What I really liked was that this film is so different to the usual film fare. And I mean there were more female roles than male, and I am a male. It seems female actors have so many fewer parts to play and display their talents. Each of them was a real 3 dimentional player and added to the pleasure watching this film. This was not a dramatic film but a comedy with some serious moments and should be judged as such. Nancy Travis, Laura Linney and Teri Hatcher deserve to be seen more often before they have to take middle-age parts like Faye Dunaway. All in all I enjoyed this film.

I missed this TNT original back in 2000 and, honestly, forgot all about it. I was browsing through my Netflix listings one day and there it was. I sat down to watch it without any preconceived views and was pleasantly surprised by the result.

I've read some other critical reviews of this movie on this website. Frankly, I'm surprised by some of the comments. What the heck is wrong with just an old-fashioned, "feel good" movie? And who better to pull these off than a stellar cast like the one featured here? I'm not expecting aching Russian drama. I'm not really expecting the ironic, leave the theatre wondering twist of Redford's THE CANDIDATE.

I do agree with one reviewer that the build up to Selleck's final speech on the platform at the convention lacked tension. I was reminded of Rob Reiner's THE American PRESIDENT, when we see President Sheppard walking the halls of the White House, mulling things over after his scene with girlfriend Annette Benning. That build up to his final scene when he gives his passionate speech to the White House press Pool was nicely staged. We knew he was going to do the right thing. The tension was in wondering when, and especially how, he was going to do it.

Tom Selleck is a powerful presence on screen. Good looking and with a voice that carries charm and deep emotion. His portrait of Gen. Eisenhower (while he didn't actually look a hick of lot like Ike, or have Ike's high pitched voice) did convey honor and genuine, deep emotions. He gave us not an exact portrait of Ike, but an emotional one, much like George C. Scott's portrait of Gen. Patton.

It takes such an actor to deliver speeches like the one that climaxes both RUNNING MATES and THE American PRESIDENT. It is the emotional portrait, rather than an exact photograph that is at the core of movies like these. This may not be the way it is, we agree, but it darn well is the way it should be. Give me a good guy, a hero who must be tempted, and occasionally swayed, but who can be counted on in the end to do the right thing. Obvious and predictable? Sure. But what's wrong with heroes?

This film is also not at all a waste of the talents of Laura Linney, Teri Hatcher, Nancy Travis or Faye Dunaway. It's good entertainment. It's more of a MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON than it is THE BEST MAN, (Henry Fonda) one of the very best political dramas on stage or screen. Many film critics begin their reviews by saying that "this movie could have been so much better if only . . . " What they're really saying is, " . . . if only I had written the script or directed." I look at films for what they actually are and look for their strengths before complaining about their weaknesses, the famous "if only."

This is a "Robert Kennedy" movie. It portrays things as they aren't and asks "Why not?"

Witty and topical, it reminds me of the somewhat superior "Barbarians at the Gate". It not "The Candidate" either, but it entertains effortlessly. If the ending is predictable, it is also emotionally satisfying.

The biggest surprise is the degree of language and nudity in a commercial cable movie. We get not one, but two lingering views of Teri Hatcher's backside. Even NYPD Blue hasn't shown this much skin for such long shots.