Hugh (Ed Harris) is a hotshot, bachelor senator determined to run for president. One day, however, he happens upon an old high school classmate named Aggie. Aggie (Diane Keaton) is an accomplished and award-winning author with a lovely face and an independent spirit. Hugh is smitten. He convinces Aggie to become his fiancé. But, will Aggie have to sacrifice her principles of honesty in the world of politics, where things are not always what they seem to be? And, will she be able to withstand the rigors of a harsh media blitz? This is, mostly, a nice romance for those who adore tales of affection. Hugh and Aggie are absolutely in love and their banter and conversation are a good view. However, although the movie tries to show the political life in its reality, it doesn't completely succeed. Nevermind. The production values are high and the script is very elegantly written. With these advantages and the handsome personages of Keaton and Harris, those who sit down to the film will find it to be good entertainment.
7 Reviews
Not quite a romance.
planktonrules6 September 2021
"Running Mates" is a film with some good points to make....and some bad. On balance it's worth seeing...but could have been done better.
When the story begins, Aggie (Diane Keaton) is with her mentally ill brother (Ed Begley Jr. ) at a restaurant. Hugh (Ed Harris) is also there and he recognizes her from back in high school and he asks her out for lunch when he returns to Washington. Hugh is a senator who has never married and he is definitely interested in her...so much that he asks her to marry him almost immediately...a weak part of the film since it was so fast. But she is very independent-minded and hates the idea of potentially becoming the First Lady. Despite this, her dislike of Hugh's handlers and her insisting she needs to be true to herself, she agrees to marry him. Soon the awfulness of being under the media's microscope becomes too much. What's next?
The idea of this film is excellent and the pair are both excellent actors. But the script occasionally let me down. How can such an independent and thoughtful woman be expected to sublimate who she really is? And, more importantly, how can a man who says he loves her insist that she do this?! It really didn't work for me until the very end...when he FINALLY stepped up and did the right things. In other words, the relationship seemed very one-sided and selfish on his part. Now, if you don't want the film to be a romance, then this is fine, as it shows politics as it often really is. But to try to bring romance into it...that's when the film disappointed. Watchable and even enjoyable at times but flawed.
When the story begins, Aggie (Diane Keaton) is with her mentally ill brother (Ed Begley Jr. ) at a restaurant. Hugh (Ed Harris) is also there and he recognizes her from back in high school and he asks her out for lunch when he returns to Washington. Hugh is a senator who has never married and he is definitely interested in her...so much that he asks her to marry him almost immediately...a weak part of the film since it was so fast. But she is very independent-minded and hates the idea of potentially becoming the First Lady. Despite this, her dislike of Hugh's handlers and her insisting she needs to be true to herself, she agrees to marry him. Soon the awfulness of being under the media's microscope becomes too much. What's next?
The idea of this film is excellent and the pair are both excellent actors. But the script occasionally let me down. How can such an independent and thoughtful woman be expected to sublimate who she really is? And, more importantly, how can a man who says he loves her insist that she do this?! It really didn't work for me until the very end...when he FINALLY stepped up and did the right things. In other words, the relationship seemed very one-sided and selfish on his part. Now, if you don't want the film to be a romance, then this is fine, as it shows politics as it often really is. But to try to bring romance into it...that's when the film disappointed. Watchable and even enjoyable at times but flawed.
Disappointing
eMTeePeeCestMe26 August 2000
Most of all I remember being disappointed by this made for HBO movie. Diane Keaton, Ed Harris, and most of the rest of this cast are respected actors with long lists of well received works to their credit. It's shocking to see them all together in a movie that manages to come up just short in nearly every respect.
Slow Start/Powerful & Eloquent Finale
aripin27 July 2003
To me, the final scene, in which Harris responds to the press corp, is worthy of viewing this intelligent and timeless slice of politics(especially the campaign phase). If only the "real-life" pols would respond in the intelligent, articulate manner as did Mr Harris,then the arrogant, self-serving members of the press would perhaps think twice before surfacing irrelevant, confrontational "garbage" that has absolutely nothing to do with a candidates abilities to effectively handle the challenges of the office for which he/she is pursuing.
More charming, heartfelt and real then The American President
beckylikeschocolate6 June 2024
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed this much more than I thought after the other reviews, although I agree that the ending is "powerful and eloquent". This film is better to me than the much higher profile "The American President" in which we're given the unique premise of a lonely president who dates a lobbyist, and let's his relationship with her change his politics - a film which I saw in the 90's and thought was a nice love story and then watched recently and realized it was entirely unethical and inappropriate for a President to do that in office. Talk about a fairy tale, only it's not romantic when she emotionally manipulates him into taking a hard line on the very issue she lobbies for. I felt disappointed. Here, a political candidate and Senator, falls for a political outsider and bravely dates her just as his campaign gets going. She hates politics and he drags her in, kicking and screaming. And we get the sense that before he'd hurt her, he'd end his campaign, but he really loves it, and he's good at it. I love Diane Keaton, and she really shines here, beautiful, smart, funny and endearing, as always. This is so well-written even though it's 32 years old! As "dirty" as politics are here, it's still cleaner than reality, but also so well-balanced - they don't get too deep on any issues. Ed Harris (giving an exciting performance as a likable, admirable Presidential candidate is supposedly a sort of right-leaning Democrat, one of those rare middle-of-the-road guys who wants to please all voters). But he's also naive enough to think that he can date a woman he (barely) went to high school with, and get serious about the relationship without either of them having to do things they don't believe in or compromise their principles, lol. She's a highly intellectual, wittily clever writer (of children's books) who he surprisingly asks to write speeches for him and weigh in on issues with his team, even though she's not only much more liberal (without being preachy), she's also humorously at odds with the kind of cliché heavy political writing that almost every candidate uses and has for decades ("I stand here before you", "Let me just say this", etc). She clashes with his campaign team as she wants him to be his unique self and they want to play it safe with old methods while still offering "new ideas". Another charming original theme is that she resists him every step of the way, and he pursues her all the more. She KNOWS they aren't an easy match (they fight repeatedly, causing a fellow Senator of his to remark "What an excitable couple!") He loves that she cracks wise and and mistrusts him and politics in general. But we do see real romance, their chemistry feels genuine, and it's frankly refreshing, as is their banter. These two are powerhouse actors and they carry the load here, the supporting cast is great but it's about these two and how they navigate the waters as things get rough, and then rougher. The excellent dialog allows us to see both, or all sides when they argue, should she "be herself" in press interviews, or refrain from wisecracking and just support him? Should he suck up to a Governor for support whose state is a mess? And the final issue, spoiler alert: after he proposes and she accepts (fighting all the way) he finds out that in 1969 she appeared in a silly, inappropriate, and pretty darn offensive "art film" in which she's nude and disrespecting the flag. She looks like a dumb young person who thinks she's being provocative or satirical but it's just the kind of dumb thing young people do that they later really regret, and she does. But she'd rather not lie about it now and is disappointed that he wants her too. Things get complicated and emotional, and they both seem to flip flop a few times on what to do. It's the emotional climax when he must speak to the press, he stands up for her, saying things we don't expect but it's sure refreshing to hear and see someone with principles who can speak well on a complicated issue, make you respect their fairness and admire their loyalty, he just handled it very well. The media jackals are depicted as relentless but also moved by his speech - this is why we have fiction, folks! A great love story, an inspiring political fable and a wonderfully well-written, intelligent film, what a delight and a genuinely pleasant surprise.
Great Movie!
simplyjc22 August 2001
Running Mates is an excellent movie charmed with two great performances. Ed Harris and Diane Keaton were spectacular! The chemistry between the two was breathtaking and very romantic. A must see in the romance department.
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