This film promised a lot. There are some great actors and some good performances. However the film itself is completely disjointed. It's like there are 3 or 4 potential focus points, none of which are decided upon.
Personally (and spoiler alert) I think there is a major fault with the first core premise: if there were photos of any male politician in an orgy it would equally be used to discredit any political nomination. The wider point about sexual issues being used more against females than males still stands but is weakened a bit by this film's premise.
The Joan Allen character itself is also completely underdeveloped. The character lacks any charisma or intelligence and you are left wondering why she would be nominated to Vice President anyway. The stand she takes of simply refusing to answer questions is a bit laughable and would probably be against any PR advice if you were actually 'innocent'. Similarly the bit about 'principles' is questionable - fair enough if you were being asked questions about your personal life but the questions being asked here were about a supposedly public and group experience.
Jeff Bridges' performance is good in itself but seems a bit removed from the rest of the film. The theme of him repeatedly ordering food from the White House kitchen might have worked in a film where he was meant to be the focus but here it just seems silly.
Lastly (almost) the bit about the other contender being arrested almost makes you feel like the previous 70mins of the film have been a waste of time.
In conclusion, as you can probably tell, I was disappointed. Some great actors and important topics, but a completely disjointed film. All the more disappointing as many of the themes it wanted to explore are even more relevant today. Also - in another way - parts of it seem like a nostalgic ode to a now seemingly extinct idea of a decent American democracy.
Personally (and spoiler alert) I think there is a major fault with the first core premise: if there were photos of any male politician in an orgy it would equally be used to discredit any political nomination. The wider point about sexual issues being used more against females than males still stands but is weakened a bit by this film's premise.
The Joan Allen character itself is also completely underdeveloped. The character lacks any charisma or intelligence and you are left wondering why she would be nominated to Vice President anyway. The stand she takes of simply refusing to answer questions is a bit laughable and would probably be against any PR advice if you were actually 'innocent'. Similarly the bit about 'principles' is questionable - fair enough if you were being asked questions about your personal life but the questions being asked here were about a supposedly public and group experience.
Jeff Bridges' performance is good in itself but seems a bit removed from the rest of the film. The theme of him repeatedly ordering food from the White House kitchen might have worked in a film where he was meant to be the focus but here it just seems silly.
Lastly (almost) the bit about the other contender being arrested almost makes you feel like the previous 70mins of the film have been a waste of time.
In conclusion, as you can probably tell, I was disappointed. Some great actors and important topics, but a completely disjointed film. All the more disappointing as many of the themes it wanted to explore are even more relevant today. Also - in another way - parts of it seem like a nostalgic ode to a now seemingly extinct idea of a decent American democracy.