The Front Runner (2018)

In 1987, U.S. Senator Gary Hart's presidential campaign is derailed when he's caught in a scandalous love affair.

Director:

Jason Reitman

Writers:

Matt Bai, Jay Carson

Stars:

Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Jackman	...	Gary Hart
Vera Farmiga	...	Lee Hart
J.K. Simmons	...	Bill Dixon
Mark O'Brien	...	Billy Shore
Molly Ephraim	...	Irene Kelly
Chris Coy	...	Kevin Sweeney
Alex Karpovsky	...	Mike Stratton
Josh Brener	...	Doug Wilson
Tommy Dewey	...	John Emerson
Kaitlyn Dever	...	Andrea Hart
Oliver Cooper	...	Joe Trippi
Jenna Kanell	...	Ginny Terzano
RJ Brown	...	Bill Martin
Alfred Molina	...	Ben Bradlee
Mamoudou Athie	...	AJ Parker

Storyline

Gary Hart, a U.S. senator from Colorado, is the widely accepted front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. After losing the 1984 nomination to vice-president Walter Mondale, Hart decides to run for President of the United States. At one point during his campaign, against the will of his manager Bill Dixon, Hart challenges the press and public to "follow him around" while he's not campaigning on weekends. This proves to be a mistake when in 1987, photos of him and journalist Donna Rice are published by Miami Herald Reporters. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Hart tries to fix his reputation at a news event concerning the affair but to no avail. Because of the consequences of his actions, Hart is disgraced, berated by Dixon, and forced to drop out of the campaign while his wife Oletha remains to be close with him. Donna also announces that she has personally denied sleeping with the now former senator..

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Plot Keywords:

senator | politics | scandal | presidential campaign | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

Gary Hart was going to be President. Instead he changed American Politics forever.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

For the axe-throwing scene, the crew set up a betting pool for how many takes it would require Hugh Jackman to hit the target. Jackman ended up nailing a bull's-eye on the first attempt, which is the take that appears in the film.

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Goofs

When Hart goes to phone Donna Rice from a pay phone at the airport, the top of a yellow 'Caution Wet Floor' sign can be seen. The sign is of a modern style/ construction which would not have been in production during the 1980s.

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Quotes

Bill Dixon: He's not a regular person, he's the next fucking president of the United fucking States!

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Crazy Credits

The film opens with the 1984 Columbia Pictures logo.

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Connections

Referenced in CTV News at Noon Toronto: Episode dated 6 September 2018 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Cocktail
Written by G. Trivellato, G. Sacchetto
Performed by Elevator Music Club
Published by Tobacco Music Edition
Courtesy of Equilibrium Srl/Equilibriummusicgroup

User Reviews

A worthy, if a bit bumpy, political film with solid performances

Jason Reitman's film (shot on 35mm by Eric Steelberg) starts off as a Fly On The Wall treatment of Gary Hart's 1988 campaign for President, before dissolving into a typical docu-drama crawl. Too bad, as the early scenes have a certain rush of excitement and even verisimilltude. The momentum gets strangely derailed just when it should be peaking - when the Donna Rice / 'Monkey Business' sex scandal hits. Hugh Jackman is good as the candidate, even if he never quite nails Hart's voice (and, while Hart was a handsome well built guy, he didn't quite have the physique of Wolverine! - especially amusing in the lumberjack scene). Vera Farmiga and JK Simmons provide solid support as Hart's wife and campaign manager respectively. Sara Paxton gives Donna Rice a sympathy beyond the typical 'victim' stereotype, even she doesn't really look the part. It's been well chronicled that Hart's sexual escapades helped clear the path for Bill Clinton to clear that hurdle when his scandals hit (not to mention the current Prez). What THE FRONT RUNNER also shows is that Hart lacked the empathy and human dimension that Clinton had that lead to his winning the Presidency. Both Hart and Clinton were policy wonks, but, 'Slick Willie' was a fully rounded personality - love him or hate him. Hart came off like a stolid Senator from flyover country. THE FRONT RUNNER doesn't break any new ground (and offers little that will appeal to anybody under 50 who isn't a political junkie), despite it's fine start. Still, as an addition to the library of political films, it's an asset.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Front Runner

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$51,543, 11 November 2018

Gross USA:

$2,000,105

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,242,235

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Stage 6 Films, BRON Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1