La vie privée d'un sénateur

Whatever happened to the rabbit was high on my list of questions and thoughts at the conclusion of The Seduction of Joe Tynan, but that's not actually a good thing. Sure, Alda, Streep, Douglas, and Torn all give solid performances which lifts the material above its inherent quality, but only so much. There's the Washington story which is well written and mostly solid. Then there is the family story which does not work as well. Much of the dialogue in this section feels clumsy and at times unnatural. The direction is fine but it's the script here that let's Joe down and leaves the viewer with an unremarkable film.

As Rip Torn is getting a blow job in his senatorial office, an aide looks down and sees a woman's legs under the desk. The senator from La. tells the aide to leave, and we see the bewildered look on his face as he leaves. Small wonder, though, as this movie which shows the salacious side of life in D.C. goes on to reveal wild parties. This same senator is seen bragging on his mile-high exploits and the party climaxes in the grand piano being shoved out the window and traveling down the driveway, flowers on top intact.

Barbara Harris does a great job as the senator's wife. The role of the reluctant teen-ager is not fully developed, and her absence at the great nomination event of the Democratic party is not explained. When you contrast this movie with the carefully orchestrated phoniness of the Republican National Convention, you see easily how our 'free and open' society has degenerated. There were no riot cops with batons and stun guns suppressing the dissidents at this convention.

Alda is still too much of a nice guy in this movie, although he does sexual lust really well, ripping off Streep's clothes. Streep does a nice job, showing her frustration and sadness at her neglectful treatment by her own financially successful husband. The work of the senate aide is also demonstrated as clearly including the handing out of hotel room keys with no questions asked.

Reminding me of Dukakis' wife Kitty and Ford's wife, Betty, you see what the strain of being a Congressman's wife can be. Great points were made about the explicit price paid for having seen a therapist, having shock therapy or the like.

This movie isn't as good as 'The Best Man', Gore Vidal's wonderfully written movie, but who can write that well in this day and time. See the movie for it's strangely prophetic scenes. And then see Alan Alda, as the CORRUPT senator opposite Howard Hughes in 'the Aviator' just in time for the Oscars. Great contrast.

Awfully familiar stuff about persons who take pride in the career over their family and power corrupting, the film is however quite well acted, which brings it above par of its type. Alan Alda and Meryl Streep are both excellent, and although Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in the same year as this film for 'Being There', he deserves it more here. The acting bridges on being melodramatic from the rest of the cast, but it is hard not to call this a well acted film with those three great performances. There is also some insight into American politics, but the film does assume a bit more than just a basic understanding already, and therefore there is a chance that viewers not familiar with American politics will wind up confused. The music choices are rather poor, and there is one very silly sequence put to square dancing music. Overall though, this is a reasonable film. It does have its flaws, but it has excellent acting to compensate. It might not show anything new or explain everything well, but it is certainly adequate entertainment for its running time.

Well-acted, occasionally well-observed drama which fails to deliver on its early promise. Joe Tynan is a forthright U.S. Senator, the latest young liberal hotshot, who jeopardizes his long-term marriage and home-life by initiating an affair with a civil rights activist. He's been carrying on with this also-married woman in various hotel rooms on the road, though Tynan's unhappy wife has more on her mind than his infidelity: she wants a life away from the political arena. As Tynan, Alan Alda, who also scripted, opens the film pressing Congress to pass a bill that would create a million new jobs in a distressed economy. One may watch this sequence and feel he's come upon a recent Congressional hearing via C-SPAN. Unfortunately, Bill Conti's animated music reminds us this is just a political lark--a vehicle for Alda, then a hot property from television's "M*A*S*H"--while the film's poor color and visual composition give hint this theatrical release was made on a limited budget. Alda becomes a Presidential hopeful practically off-screen, while his constituents bray in the background and play trade-off with each other's wives at Washington parties. This is all quite trenchant, and Tynan's face-off with a bigoted fellow senator is topical, but Alda's screenplay isn't really interested in the inner-workings of Capitol Hill. He's too anxious to get his character into bed with honey-voiced Meryl Streep (third-billed), who is shown to be a smart and savvy lady--though one who is just as unable to control her desires as Tynan. We don't learn much about the Streep character's situation, however the actress's sneaky, intricate force wheedles its way through and she just about walks off with the picture. Melvyn Douglas is surprisingly frittered away as an elder Senator, while Barbara Harris as Joe's wife isn't allowed to showcase her fringe assets (that dazed-and-dreamy voice coupled with the wobbly retorts). Alda is, of course, ideally cast for the lead, and his pained, sensitive expressions are contrasted quite well with his pent-up exasperation. The movie ultimately doesn't offer much because Alda can't stick with one scenario long enough for the picture to take-off as a whole. The film's overall design is dreadful, and director Jerry Schatzberg shows no style whatsoever, yet those little pinpoints scattered about show that not much has changed in Congress (nor in our country) in the last 31 years. ** from ****

a highly underestimated work definitely worth revisiting. it's a portrayal of sexual politics and power in washington d.c. that is still relevant today. it features a stunningly real and moving performance by the great barbara harris. bring her back!