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The Front Runner exhumes the wreckage of a political campaign with well-acted wit, even if it neglects to truly analyze the issues it raises. Read critic reviews
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The Front Runner videos
The Front Runner: Official Clip - This is Beneath You
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Have You Ever Committed Adultery?
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Feel Stupid for a While
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Too Much Time With an Unmarried Woman
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Hunters and the Hunted
The Front Runner: Official Clip - The Other Woman
The Front Runner: Official Clip - Ambushed in the Alley
The Front Runner: Official Clip - It's Time to Go Home
The Front Runner: Official Clip - It's Not Going to Blow Over
The Front Runner: Trailer 2
The Front Runner: Trailer 1
The Front Runner Photos
Movie Info
Gary Hart, former senator of Colorado, becomes the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1987. Hart's intelligence, charisma and idealism makes him popular with young voters, leaving him with a seemingly clear path to the White House. All that comes crashing down when allegations of an extramarital affair surface in the media, forcing the candidate to address a scandal that threatens to derail his campaign and personal life.
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Rating: R (Some Sexual References|Language)
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Genre: Biography, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Jason Reitman
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Producer: Jason Reitman, Helen Estabrook, Aaron L. Gilbert
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Writer: Matt Bai, Jay Carson, Jason Reitman
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Stage 6, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
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Production Co: Stage 6 Films, Right of Way Films, BRON Studios
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Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Front Runner
Critic Reviews for The Front Runner
Audience Reviews for The Front Runner
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From writer/director Jason Reitman comes the political drama The Front Runner, a compelling look at the Gary Hart sex scandal. The film follows three weeks of Senator Gary Hart's 1988 presidential campaign when he went from the front runner for the Democratic nomination to a scandal ridden politician who was forced to withdraw after being caught having an extramarital affair. Interestingly though, Reitman doesn't really focus on the affair, but instead looks at how it forever altered the press; which had previously turned a blind eye to a politician's womanizing. Particularly relevant to today's political climate, the film explores what is news and what the public has a right to know. However, it does come off as a little preachy and pro-Hart. Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, JK Simmons, and Sara Paxton lead the cast and deliver some strong performances. And the production designers do a good job at creating an authentic look and feel for the late ‘80s. A thought-provoking biopic, The Front Runner tells an interesting story about the beginning of a culture shift that demanded more openness and accountability of politicians.
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In 1987, former Colorado senator and governor Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) was the leading Democrat in primary polling and a sure bet to take on George H.W. Bush for the White House. In three weeks time, his campaign was in tatters and he folded. It all stems from a supposed affair he was conducting with Donna Rice (Sara Paxton). They deny anything but Gary acts like he has something to hide, evading the media's questions about his marriage and his past history with infidelity. Enough time has passed in the political landscape to take a deeper dive into Gary Hart's disintegration in the spotlight, and the moment serves a tipping point for changing media coverage. Journalists talk about the old days where candidate infidelity and ailments were just ignored as a gentleman's agreement of sorts between the gatekeepers, but should they have? While a candidate's martial relations are significantly less important than policy and governance, they do reflect character and what he or she (but, let's face it, mostly he) acts with authority. Strangely, The Front Runner wants to paint the hungry journalists digging into Hart's past as the real enemy, going above and beyond the bounds of ethics for crass sensationalism. This is directed and co-written by Jason Reitman (Tully, Up in the Air), a shrewd storyteller with a knack for human drama, which makes the "both sides are bad" equivocation all the more curious. Jackman is strong and has several scenes of righteous speeches talking about how he didn't sign away his privacy, except when you run for president, you kind of do, and the American public deserve to know if their leaders abuse power. The movie favors long takes with a wide supporting cast of players that speak like they stepped out of an Aaron Sorkin workshop (an exchange celebrating the "integrity" of news anchors wearing bad suits feels ripped right from Sorkin's unguarded typewriter). The film is nicely sympathetic to the "other woman" in this scenario and treats her like a human being with dimension. The PR recovery and shady deeds of Hart's team reminded me of the Chappaquiddick, which placed an unfavorable scrutiny on Ted Kennedy and his team of political spin masters after his deadly car accident. It all makes for an entertaining movie with solid performances and interesting character shading, but its perspective is too wobbly, trying to lay the blame on everyone it can find. Nate's Grade: B
nathan z Super Reviewer -
Hart should have known the Herald would sing. The Front Runner is about the birth of tabloid journalism infiltrating credible institutions, but what itï¿ 1/2(TM)s commenting on is how the media often allows a single moment of someoneï¿ 1/2(TM)s life to encapsulate and define that personï¿ 1/2(TM)s entire existence given the faceted perspective of how said incident is reported on. This is a fine truth to examine, especially through the lens of a 1987 scandal where the volume is comparably lower than the eleven todayï¿ 1/2(TM)s media cycle has been ratcheted up to, but the point director Jason Reitman (go watch TULLY now!) seeks to point out doesnï¿ 1/2(TM)t always jive with the story heï¿ 1/2(TM)s telling. The film makes it pretty clear Hugh Jackmanï¿ 1/2(TM)s (always reliable) Gary Hart was something of a womanizer on the reg and that the affair that outed him wasnï¿ 1/2(TM)t the only instance of this behavior. Reitman seeks to both make an example of Hart while also garnering empathy for the man, but the idea that the scrutiny or even the manner in which the scrutiny came down upon Hart was unwarranted begins to wain as the bigger picture around the Senator becomes clearer. What the movie gets right is highlighting the ramifications of Hartï¿ 1/2(TM)s actions on the women around him such as his wife, Lee (Vera Farmiga), his daughter Andrea (Kaitlyn Dever), as well as the woman involved in the affair, Donna (Sara Paxton)-whose line of dialogue, ï¿ 1/2I did all the things I was supposed to do so men wouldnï¿ 1/2(TM)t look at me the way you are right now.ï¿ 1/2Â?-perfectly encapsulates this theme. While the film has some quarrels about sorting out its question of where the line is between what is interesting and what is important, it must be noted that the roster of character actors in this thing is insane. J.K. Simmons, Josh Brener, Oliver Cooper, Alfred Molina, Mamoudou Athie, Ari Graynor (who I didnï¿ 1/2(TM)t even recognize at first), John Bedford Lloyd, Steve Coulter, Spencer Garrett, Steve Zissis, Bill Burr, Kevin Pollack, Mike Judge, Toby Huss, Courtney Ford, and Iï¿ 1/2(TM)m sure Iï¿ 1/2(TM)m missing others, but among all of these recognizable faces it is Tim Allenï¿ 1/2(TM)s other TV daughter featured here, Molly Ephraim (the other being Dever), who does much of the heavy lifting thematically and gives the film the edge it needs to be heard in todayï¿ 1/2(TM)s climate even if the voice behind it isnï¿ 1/2(TM)t as firm as it should be.
philip p Super Reviewer
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