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The University Daily Kansan 2000
Movies
Section B • Page 8
Thursday, October 12, 2000
Contender can compete at movies
By Ryan Dolan
Kansan movie reviewer
"I'm not confirming a woman just because she's a woman," says Gary Oldman as Sen. Shelly Runyon in the political thriller *The Contender*, which opens in theaters tomorrow.
That's just the beginning of the troubles for Sen. Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) as she tries to climb the political ladder.
as she tries to climb the political ladder. President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) needs to appoint a new vice president. Evans belies popular sentiment and picks Hanson to be the first female to fill the office. During the confirmation hearings, Hanson steps into a political blitzkrieg orchestrated by the frumpy but vicious Westwestern, Sen. Runyon.
Runyon wants another governor to be the next veep and threatens to reveal a past sex scandal of Hanson's if she proceeds with the hearings.
"The American people will believe what I say about you," says Runyon, "because I'll have a big microphone in front of me."
Hanson refuses to capitulate, arguing that public service and one's private life are separate entities. Runyon enlists a naive congressional newbie, Senator Reginald Webster (Christian Slater), to smear Hanson into Betty Crocker
domesticity.
both sex and politics sell movie tickets, but The Contender doesn't just go for the cheap thrill. Writer/director Rod Lurie scores his first big Hollywood hit. Lurie underlies his film's tense power struggles with insight and irony about the ideals and realities of American politics.
A West Point grad and former L.A. based movie critic, Lurie used to be despised in Hollywood for his acerbic film reviews. He channels this wit into cutting dialogue, where every character, including Hanson's 6-year-old son, cracks a joke or zings a one-liner. Pundits believe Lurie and several members of the cast will be up for Oscars.
As the wily Sen. Runyon, Gary Oldman thankfully shies away from his recent over-the-top villain roles. He plays the former Nixon cronie with a repressed bitterness, which borders on the pathetic. You almost feel sorry for the guy as he attempts to rip Hanson's life apart.
Bridges' President Evans exudes a Clinton-esque, "Aw, shucks, let's eat some pie and discuss this" persona. His laid-back demeanor masks his motives and integrity from his friends and foes alike. Bridge's Big Lebowski co-star Sam Elliott shaves his white, bushy mustache and delivers a breakthrough performance as Kermit Newman, Bridge's
The Contender:
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chief of staff, Christian Slater gives a solid performance as Sen. Webster, but with his past drug problems and jail time, it is hard to swallow his character's naive.
Lurie penned *Contender* specifically for Allen, but he could not get a major studio to finance the film because the former Oscar nominee wasn't an A-List actress. But Dreamworks smelled a political gold mine and decided to distribute the movie during election season.
Allen succeeds in her portrayal of the flawed yet virtuous Hanson. Her moral decisions become somewhat unbelievable as the movie progresses, and The Contender almost falls into a fairy tale. Despite that, the underrated Allen definitely deserves an Oscar nomination for her role.
Some critics are going to argue that Lurie cannot credibly straddle both cynical and idealistic extremes. As any politician knows, you can't be all things to all people, but the ideological mix with a few twisted ironies won my vote.
As Sen. Laine Hanson, Joan Allen refuses to answer questions about her personal life during vicepresidential confirmation hearings. The Contender opens tomorrow at Southwind 12 Theatres, 3433 Iowa St. Contributed photo.
Movie line
Almost Famous. Writer/Director Cameron Crone brings the 1970s music scene to life with his semi-autobiographical story of a teen journalist who goes on the road with a rock band. At Southwind 12 Theatres, 3433 Iowa St.
The Art of War. Shaw (Wesley Snipes) is part of a top-secret team working for the United Nations solving crises and helping to maintain world peace. At Plaza 6, 2339 Iowa St.
Bait. A tense action-thriller with a healthy dose of comedy. At Plaza 6.
Blood Simple. A Texas bar owner hires a private detective to kill his wife and her lover, but things don't go as planned when double-crossing and betrayal abound. At Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.
**Bring It On.** In a contest to lead her school to victory in the national cheerleading championships for the sixth year in a row, Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst), team captain of the San Diego Toros at Rancho Carne High School, must show her team how to beat out their rival squad, the Clovers. At Southwind 12.
The Cell. A wild ride inside the mind of a serial killer, The Cell is a movie that leads viewers on a strange visual and psychological journey. At Plaza 6.
Digimon: The Movie. Based on the popular Anime television show, Digimon: Digital Monsters. At Southwind 12.
**Duets.** Stars Gwyneth Pattrow and is directed by her father, Bruce Pattrow. It dives headfirst into the bizarre musical world of karaoke. At Plaza 6.
Get Carter. Syllvester Stallone plays a hit man who, after his brother's unexplained murder, sets out to find the killer and avenge his brother's death. Along the way, he's forced to re-evaluate himself, his family and his dangerous career. At Southwind 12.
Meet the Parents. A young woman brings her fiancee (Ben Stiller) home to meet her parents. Her father (Robert DeNiro) instantly decides that he's unimpressed by his daughter's husband-to-be. At Southwind 12.
Nurse Betty. A waitress in a small Kansas town lives vicariously through her favorite soap opera stars and fantasizes about a perfect life of the doctors and nurses on the TV show, A Reason to Love. At Southwind 12.
The Original Kings of Comedy.
Feature-length documentary filmed the evenings of Feb. 26 and Feb. 27, 2000 at the Charlotte, N.C., Colosseum. At Plaza 6.
Remember the Titans. Reviewed this week in Jaylay. At Southwind 12.
Space Cowboys. A 60-year-old astronaut (Clint Eastwood) is sent on a mission to repair a broken satellite that threatens to cause a disaster on Earth if it falls from outer space. At Plaza 6.
*The Tao of Steve*. Dex (Donal Logue) is a lovable kindergarten teacher who has extraordinary success with women, and a sexual appetite to match. Women go crazy for him, and men admire his finely-tuned romantic philosophy. The film, and Logue's role in it, got the Outstanding Performance Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2000. At Liberty Hall.
Urban Legends: Final Cut. During a contest to determine the best thesis film, student filmmakers at Alpine University are having an unusually hard time because someone is killing the crew
members. At Southwind 12.
The Watcher. The story follows an ex-police detective who has relocated to Chicago in order to escape his past. Serial killer, David Allen Griffin (Keanu Reeves), has formed a special emotional attachment to the detective, luring him to Chicago to continue their deadly cat-and-mouse game. At Southwind 12.
What Lies Beneath. This chilling romantic mystery from director Robert Zemeckis casts Harrison Ford and Michale Pfeiffer as a quiet couple living in the hills of Vermont. At Southwind 12.
Woman on Top. Isabella (Penelope Cruz) is a top-notch chef and glowing beauty who suffers from motion sickness. Playing up all of these characteristics, the film explores two of Cruz's love affairs: one with a restaurant owner and the other with the television producer of a cooking program. At Plaza 6.
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