The Contender is a 2000 political drama written and directed by Rod Lurie (The Last Castle, Outpost, Nothing but the Truth, Hell on Wheels, Straw Dogs, and Resurrecting the Champ). Jackson Evans is Obama’s favorite cinematic President of all time. Paul Newman was the original choice for Jackson Evans but declined because he was retired at the moment. It was originally distributed by DreamWorks who picked it up for $9 million for it’s domestic rights at the time which apparently changed the film that included a subplot that gave Philip Baker Hall a much bigger role in the original version. The budget was $22 million and it grossed $22,428,990 worldwide at the box office. 
Democratic U.S. President Jackson Evans (played by: Jeff Bridges from The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, True Grit, Hell or High Water, Iron Man, Seabiscuit, Arlington Road, Blown Away, Starman, and King Kong) must select a new Vice President following the sudden death of his vice president during his second term. The stand out choice and selection is Governor Jack Hathaway (played by: William Petersen from Manhunter, CSI, Fear, To Live and Die in LA, The Skulls, and Young Guns II). He is considered a hero after he recently dove into a lake in a failed attempt to save a drowning girl. The President uses the failed attempt to do something different. He decides nominating Senator Laine Hanson (played by: Joan Allen from Manhunter, Bourne franchise, Nixon, The Ice Storm, Pleasantville, Face/Off, and Death Race) which is totally against type when it comes to being Vice President. His main staff includes Kermit Newman (played by: Sam Elliott from The Big Lebowski, Road House, Hulk, A Star is Born, Ghost Rider, and Tombstone) and Jerry Tolliver (played by: Saul Rubinek from True Romance, Unforgiven, Hunters, Frasier, The Family Man, War, and Masters of Horror). Both houses of Congress approval is required for the nod. Standing in her way is the vengeful Republican Congressman Sheldon Runyon (played by: Gary Oldman from True Romance, The Professional, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Hannibal, Dracula, State of Grace, Romeo is Bleeding, JFK, and The Fifth Element), who thinks she is very unqualified for the important position. He strongly backs Hathaway for the nomination. He is joined in his opposition by Democratic Representative Reginald Webster (played by: Christian Slater from True Romance, Heathers, Pump up the Volume, Very Bad Things, Mr. Robot, Mobsters, Broken Arrow, Young Guns II, The Legend of Billie Jean, and Interview with the Vampire). They dig up her damaging and embarrassing past. They expose her shocking mistakes to the public. Now Laine must decide how to defend these awful stories and she needs to figure out if this job is worth bringing all her skeletons out of the closet. Is it all lies? or Has she stepped into something that she can’t survive????
The Contender is one of the best political films that you have probably never heard of. It shows the dark side when it comes to the behind the scenes for nominations. One woman must battle a sexist who is only out for revenge against a former friend who wronged him in the past. This drama has a great script and it has some solid twists in it. The proof of that is the amazing cast that joined this production. The Contender includes Christian Slater, Saul Rubinek, Sam Elliott, William Petersen, Philip Baker Hall, Mike Binder, Mariel Hemingway, Robin Thomas, and Kathryn Morris. Joan Allen gives her best performance in The Contender. She stands her ground despite knowing secrets that could destroy others and she battles for the job not her accused past. This whole movie was made for her basically and she’s one of the reasons that a few of other leads took this gig. Jeff Bridges shines as the President. He doesn’t back down from his selection despite so many try to change his mind. He fights for her as his second in command just as hard as she does. The character has so much personality, he is hilarious and his food power obsession is a entertaining running gag here. Gary Oldman proves once again that he is one of the best villains ever to hit the screen. Sheldon Runyon doesn’t care about ruining a woman’s life over his petty beef with the President. He is brutal when it comes to defending his beliefs. The Contender barely ever gets mentioned but it’s a quality sleeper that deserves more attention than it actually gets. I’ve always enjoyed this one, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Giant Pictures! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is a solid upgrade compared to the old DVD release when it comes to home video. It’s the best it’s ever looked so far. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Digital 5.1 and English: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. It has English subtitles. The only extra here is the “Trailer’. If you own the previous older DVD, make sure to hold on to it because none of those special features were carried over on this M.O.D. (Professional BD-R) release. It’s available everywhere starting tomorrow which includes MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
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Good political film