Author(s): Brian
Location: Arizona
"Candidacy"
Directed by Alexander Payne
Written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Music by Rolfe Kent
Principal Cast:
Matthew Perry (Keith)
Edward Norton (Chris Stanton)
Jack Nicholson (Norbert)
Megan Mullally (Nancy)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sophie)
Neil Patrick Harris (Tony)
Steve Carell (Jack)
Tatum O’Neal (Monica)
Aasif Mandvi (Harvey)
Cynthia Nixon (Denise)
Tagline: "Coming Election Day 2008"
Synopsis: Politicians are dirty, ruthless people. That’s pretty much a fact. The public has grown to hate the core of them, almost all of them are out of touch with the actual needs of the people and scandal after scandal bombards our televisions. That’s where Chris Stanton steps in. Chris was elected Senator of Massachusetts three years ago in a landslide, and he has since been deeply inclined to run for President. Since he has virtually no experience, he runs simply on the platform that, for one, he’s young, two, that he’s good looking and three, he’s not like most politicians. To start, he needs to set up a campaign committee…
First, he needs a campaign manager, and finds one named Keith. Keith is fairly organized and likeable, and as a bonus to Chris’ image, he’s also gay.
Next he needs a speechwriter or two, and discovers Nancy and Tony. Nancy is a brilliant writer, but she has no idea who she is. She considers herself a wild rebel who plays by her own rules, when really she’s a frivolous and shallow person. Tony is Keith’s boyfriend who can’t say anything without it being witty. One can only imagine what a presidential speech he wrote would be like…
Next he needs people to organize it all. As treasurer, Stanton appoints Monica. Big mistake. Monica is perfectly nice, but if anyone mentions the word “work,” and she will criticize you for hours at a time and force her perfectionist views on you. About everything. No matter what. So, it’s just her luck that she gets to work with Jack. Jack is essentially bipolar. Half of the time, he will be incredibly efficient and timely, and the other half of the time he’ll be making insulting jokes about his co-workers or writing stand-up routines.
Now all that he needs are endorsements. His first one is Sophie, a high profile and slightly crazy actress. Or, more properly, a slutty actress. She dates anything that moves. He also has a model named Denise, a strikingly beautiful but incredibly annoying woman. She will talk about anything to anyone for hours at a time, loudly and without warning. Then there’s Harvey. Harvey isn’t really a celebrity endorsement, he’s just Chris’ best friend. He thinks that he’s an extremely successful stand-up comic, when in fact he flips burgers from 9 to 5 and sneaks into comedy clubs and is usually booed off the stage. And finally, there’s Norbert. Norbert is the former Vice-President of a very Republican administration, and is only backing Stanton, a Democrat, because none of the Republican candidates wanted him. And why would they? He is a foul mouthed, rude and overall dirty old man. Stanton only took him because he needed a conservative endorsement, and he was the only one available.
All of these people are put on one bus together to go across the country on a two-week campaign trip. And, from Norbert constantly turning up the heat to remind Keith and Tony how hot Hell is, to Nancy falling in love with Jack and Jack in love with her 50% of the time, and insulting her the other half of the time, to Sophie seducing virtually everyone on the bus, to Harvey and Tony getting into a feud over who’s funnier (when Tony would win unanimously), to Denise talking to Monica constantly during her “working time” (a time no non-suicidal person should mess with), everyone has tons of problems. And that’s where Keith comes in. Keith needs to balance managing with everyone’s conflicts, saving his dying relationship with Tony and winning the election for Chris all at once.
What the press would say:
“Candidacy”, the major hit at the Cannes Film Festival, is not only one of the best films of the year, but it’s also the smartest. Alexander Payne, who graced us in 2004 with his masterpiece “Sideways”, provides us with another insightful, poignant character study, with plenty of laughs along the way. Matthew Perry headlines the cast with a likeable and entertaining performance that could easily earn him an Oscar nomination. But it is Megan Mullally and Jack Nicholson that steal the screen. Nicholson takes a role that one would usually consider to be a “typical Jack” role, but he turns it into something much more. He brings so many new things to the table with this performance in a tricky role. Mullally takes what seems like a run-of-the-mill role and turns it into something extraordinary. She reminds why America fell in love with her with “Will & Grace.” Even though we are only in the beginning of November, I can easily call this these the best supporting performances of the year. But the star of the movie is its screenplay, written by the director, Payne, and his brilliant co-scribe Jim Taylor. “Candidacy” could have easily fallen victim to a typical comedy that thinks it’s smart but isn’t, but Payne and Taylor create such brilliant characters with sharp, fresh dialogue and the most unexpectedly clever, sometimes moving, situations. Wrap all of these things up and you have a serious comedic contender for Best Picture with a strong campaign in the following categories…
Best Picture
Best Director (Alexander Payne)
Best Original Screenplay (Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor)
Best Actor (Matthew Perry)
Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
Best Supporting Actress (Megan Mullally)
Best Original Score (Rolfe Kent)
Location: Arizona
"Candidacy"
Directed by Alexander Payne
Written by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Music by Rolfe Kent
Principal Cast:
Matthew Perry (Keith)
Edward Norton (Chris Stanton)
Jack Nicholson (Norbert)
Megan Mullally (Nancy)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sophie)
Neil Patrick Harris (Tony)
Steve Carell (Jack)
Tatum O’Neal (Monica)
Aasif Mandvi (Harvey)
Cynthia Nixon (Denise)
Tagline: "Coming Election Day 2008"
Synopsis: Politicians are dirty, ruthless people. That’s pretty much a fact. The public has grown to hate the core of them, almost all of them are out of touch with the actual needs of the people and scandal after scandal bombards our televisions. That’s where Chris Stanton steps in. Chris was elected Senator of Massachusetts three years ago in a landslide, and he has since been deeply inclined to run for President. Since he has virtually no experience, he runs simply on the platform that, for one, he’s young, two, that he’s good looking and three, he’s not like most politicians. To start, he needs to set up a campaign committee…
First, he needs a campaign manager, and finds one named Keith. Keith is fairly organized and likeable, and as a bonus to Chris’ image, he’s also gay.
Next he needs a speechwriter or two, and discovers Nancy and Tony. Nancy is a brilliant writer, but she has no idea who she is. She considers herself a wild rebel who plays by her own rules, when really she’s a frivolous and shallow person. Tony is Keith’s boyfriend who can’t say anything without it being witty. One can only imagine what a presidential speech he wrote would be like…
Next he needs people to organize it all. As treasurer, Stanton appoints Monica. Big mistake. Monica is perfectly nice, but if anyone mentions the word “work,” and she will criticize you for hours at a time and force her perfectionist views on you. About everything. No matter what. So, it’s just her luck that she gets to work with Jack. Jack is essentially bipolar. Half of the time, he will be incredibly efficient and timely, and the other half of the time he’ll be making insulting jokes about his co-workers or writing stand-up routines.
Now all that he needs are endorsements. His first one is Sophie, a high profile and slightly crazy actress. Or, more properly, a slutty actress. She dates anything that moves. He also has a model named Denise, a strikingly beautiful but incredibly annoying woman. She will talk about anything to anyone for hours at a time, loudly and without warning. Then there’s Harvey. Harvey isn’t really a celebrity endorsement, he’s just Chris’ best friend. He thinks that he’s an extremely successful stand-up comic, when in fact he flips burgers from 9 to 5 and sneaks into comedy clubs and is usually booed off the stage. And finally, there’s Norbert. Norbert is the former Vice-President of a very Republican administration, and is only backing Stanton, a Democrat, because none of the Republican candidates wanted him. And why would they? He is a foul mouthed, rude and overall dirty old man. Stanton only took him because he needed a conservative endorsement, and he was the only one available.
All of these people are put on one bus together to go across the country on a two-week campaign trip. And, from Norbert constantly turning up the heat to remind Keith and Tony how hot Hell is, to Nancy falling in love with Jack and Jack in love with her 50% of the time, and insulting her the other half of the time, to Sophie seducing virtually everyone on the bus, to Harvey and Tony getting into a feud over who’s funnier (when Tony would win unanimously), to Denise talking to Monica constantly during her “working time” (a time no non-suicidal person should mess with), everyone has tons of problems. And that’s where Keith comes in. Keith needs to balance managing with everyone’s conflicts, saving his dying relationship with Tony and winning the election for Chris all at once.
What the press would say:
“Candidacy”, the major hit at the Cannes Film Festival, is not only one of the best films of the year, but it’s also the smartest. Alexander Payne, who graced us in 2004 with his masterpiece “Sideways”, provides us with another insightful, poignant character study, with plenty of laughs along the way. Matthew Perry headlines the cast with a likeable and entertaining performance that could easily earn him an Oscar nomination. But it is Megan Mullally and Jack Nicholson that steal the screen. Nicholson takes a role that one would usually consider to be a “typical Jack” role, but he turns it into something much more. He brings so many new things to the table with this performance in a tricky role. Mullally takes what seems like a run-of-the-mill role and turns it into something extraordinary. She reminds why America fell in love with her with “Will & Grace.” Even though we are only in the beginning of November, I can easily call this these the best supporting performances of the year. But the star of the movie is its screenplay, written by the director, Payne, and his brilliant co-scribe Jim Taylor. “Candidacy” could have easily fallen victim to a typical comedy that thinks it’s smart but isn’t, but Payne and Taylor create such brilliant characters with sharp, fresh dialogue and the most unexpectedly clever, sometimes moving, situations. Wrap all of these things up and you have a serious comedic contender for Best Picture with a strong campaign in the following categories…
Best Picture
Best Director (Alexander Payne)
Best Original Screenplay (Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor)
Best Actor (Matthew Perry)
Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson)
Best Supporting Actress (Megan Mullally)
Best Original Score (Rolfe Kent)
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