Running Mates (2000)

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.

Tom Selleck is just perfect as the governor who is chosen as Democratic nominee for president. Laura Linney is equally perfect, as his smart, energetic, workaholic campaign manager. The movie runs along nicely and sets us up for a good dramatic conclusion, but to me fumbled on the three-yard-line, and finished up as just an average movie, somewhat of a let-down after the fine build-up.some SPOILERS follow, don't read further unless you've seen the movie.The presidential nomination is boosted along by hard-edge politicians who offer Selleck a large sum of money with the understanding that he will be in their pocket. On the verge of choosing their man as VP running mate, he fires Linney. But at the last minute, he rejects all that and chooses the man that he should have in the first place. The disappointed politicians vow to block his favored legislation. To me, the ending just fell flat, and spoiled a fine build-up over the first 75 minutes or so. He did the right thing, but it just didn't have any passion connected with it. The median IMDb rating of 6 is about right.

Why is it that a woman cannot be a strong character in a movie without sleeping with the leading man? The campaign manager in this movie dreams of leading Tom Sellick to the White House. It's all she can think about. So, why on earth must she have had an affair with him? It added nothing to the plot and served only to demean successful women. The only value of that tidbit was the cute "we've all slept with your husband" scene. Also, couldn't the people who made this movie have watched the national conventions they were spoofing? Airing between the two major political conventions only served to highlight their total ignorance of the nomination and selection process.

I enjoyed this movie. It was very reminiscent of the Clinton administration. While the presidential hopeful in this movie turns out to be a decent guy and makes for a happy ending, it makes the movie somewhat unrealistic. While it may fall short on realistically portraying the typical presidential candidate, Running Mates does a good job of portraying the media hoopla candidates receive and the behind-the-scenes work it takes to make the man.