Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates, Adrian Lester
Have I Seen it Before: Oh, man. Many, many times.
Did I Like It: There are few films (to say nothing of the source material) that have more influenced my early writing.
The story of campaign workers slowly losing their sense under the weight of a wave of pure charisma speaks to, if not me, than certainly a younger version of me. That’s not who I am anymore, but its hard not to deny the sheer tonnage of nostalgia that the movie brings.
I just realized I didn’t answer the “did I like it” question, did I? Imagine that, not giving a straight answer to a question. Kind of like a politician. I do like the film. There are few truly great Travolta performances, and with his aw shucks Dr. Jekyll fighting with his horny, petulant Mr. Hyde, this might be my favorite of his work. But, ultimately, this movie may not quite sing for me as much as it once did.
I don’t think that it is the fault of the filmmakers. Just like a news story from the era, I just thin kit doesn’t age terribly great. Who could have guessed at the time that it would have this problem?
Could it be that large swaths of it ring tone deaf in the #metoo era. Possibly, but there is a moral environment in the film where our protagonist, Henry Burton (Lester) seems willing to fight (even if he eventually loses) for those more lofty ideals.
Is it because a cynical political satire about the Clinton era of politics doesn’t quite work the same in a time when the entire world seems like its increasingly on fire? That may be the more likely explanation for where the age is showing. Characters stand around knowing that if the juggernaut candidate Freddy Picker (Larry Hagman) is involved in some kind of nepotistic business deal or a tax swindle, he clearly has disqualified himself from being President. Twenty years ago, this film was bleak in its cynicism, now it is either Capraesque or naive in the extreme.