It’s hard not to think of The West Wing when talking about The Contender.  The former begins its eagerly anticipated second season just days before the latter hits multiplex screens (the comparison hits closer to home for me, having screened The Contender the morning after Wing won the Emmy Award for Best Drama).  DreamWorks did well to release their film right before the upcoming presidential election, as public interest in the political process should be at a curiously high level.

The Contender is one heck of a slick film, featuring everything from top-notch performances, glossy sheen (not Martin) and a better-than-average script.  It’s also billed as Joan Allen’s first leading role, which is surprising, considering she’s a well-respected, two-time Oscar nominee.  While The Contender isn’t really her picture to carry alone, she still does a damn fine job.

The film centers on the President’s quest to fill the seat of his recently deceased Vice President.  Jeff Bridges (The Muse) plays the Democratic Commander-in-Chief Jackson Evans, a popular leader nearing the end of his second term.  Desperate to leave a unique stamp on history, Evans picks Montana Senator Laine Hanson (Allen, Pleasantville), hoping the appointment of a female Veep will be his Presidential legacy.

Although Hanson isn’t the obvious choice, she’s certainly capable and seems to be a lock for the position.  But Evans and Hanson hit an iceberg in Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman, Lost in Space), the southern Republican Senator that heads the confirmation hearings committee.  The Contender shows the interesting back-room power struggle between the White House and the conniving Runyon, who clearly has no problem destroying the integrity of a competent candidate, even if it means digging up some pretty awful dirt on the Vice Presidential hopeful.  Runyon would rather see Governor Jack Hathaway (William L. Petersen, television’s C.S.I.) as the country’s second-in-command.  Even though Hathaway is a Democrat, Runyon is hell-bent on embarrassing Evans in retaliation for a snub that occurred several years ago.

Allen in fantastic, and an Oscar nomination would not be out of the question.  Ditto for Oldman, who is refreshing by virtue of not giving his typical over-the-top performance (although his character looks a lot like another hammy actor – Roberto Benigni).  But Bridges is The Contender’s big scene-stealer.  His President Evans is extremely likeable but complexly shrewd (like the big guy on Wing), and he gets all of the good lines, as well as a funny running gag where he tries to catch his kitchen staff off-guard with bizarre requests for food.  Sam Elliott (The Hi-Lo Country) does a good job as the President’s Chief of Staff, while Christian Slater (Very Bad Things) is quite believable as a turncoat freshman Senator.

The Contender was written and directed by Rod Lurie (Deterrence), a former film critic for a popular Los Angeles radio station.  You would think an ex-critic would know better than to slap a preachy morality lesson onto the end of an otherwise fantastic picture.  The conclusion of the film might make you leave the theatre with a bad taste in your mouth, but it shouldn’t detract from the otherwise stellar aspects of The Contender.

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