''The Front Runner'' is a 2018 American

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas i ...

film directed by

Jason Reitman Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian-American actor and filmmaker, best known for directing the films '' Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), '' Juno'' (2007), '' Up in the Air'' (2009), '' Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Ghostbuste ...

, based on the 2014 book ''All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid'' by

Matt Bai Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, who co-wrote the screenplay with Reitman and

Jay Carson Jay Carson is an American screenwriter and producer. Carson worked in domestic and international politics for Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Bill Bradley, Chuck Schumer, Mike Bloomberg, and Tom Daschle before his career in film a ...

. The film stars

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films ''The Conjuring'' (2013), ''The Conjuring 2'' (2016), ''Annabelle Comes ...

J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

, and

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

. It chronicles the rise of American Senator

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

, the

front-runner In politics, a front-runner (also spelled frontrunner or front runner) is a leader in an electoral race. While the front-runner in athletic events (the namesake of the political concept) is generally clear, a political front-runner, particularly i ...

candidate to be the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, and his subsequent fall from grace when media reports suggested he was having an extramarital affair. The film premiered at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

on August 31, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 6, 2018, by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

. It received mixed reviews; while Jackman was praised for his performance, critics said the rest of the cast felt wasted and the film did not "dive deep enough into its central issues to make a compelling argument." The film was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

, earning just $3.2 million against its $25 million budget.

Plot

After finishing second to

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

in the

1984 Democratic Party presidential primaries From February 20 to June 12, 1984, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was selected as the nominee through a series of primary electi ...

, former Senator

is now the widely accepted

in the

1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries From February 8 to June 14, 1988, voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for president in the 1988 United States presidential election. Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis was selected as the nominee through a series of primary el ...

. Leading up to the formal launch of his campaign in April 1987, some of Hart's campaign staff are concerned that he won't open up about himself (letting the public "get to know him"), instead focusing on ideas and policy. Meanwhile, at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', editors and journalists discuss whether the paper should report on Hart's marital problems and rumoured promiscuity. After the first week of campaigning, Hart joins his friend Billy Broadhurst for a yacht cruise from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Bimini Bimini is the westernmost district of the Bahamas and comprises a chain of islands located about due east of Miami. Bimini is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and approximately west-northwest of Nassau. The popula ...

on the ''Monkey Business'', where he meets

Donna Rice Donna Rice Hughes (born January 7, 1958) is president and CEO of Enough Is Enough, an author, speaker and film producer. In her work with Enough is Enough, Hughes has appeared on a variety of outlets as an Internet safety advocate. She first b ...

, a young woman. Days later at an array of pay-phones in an airport, two reporters (A.J. Parker of the ''Post'' and Tom Fiedler of the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Ben Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

, overrules him, indicating that they need to change with the times. While preparing for a press conference, Hart's campaign team notes that polls show a majority of the public believes the media has gone too far in their coverage of Hart and that a candidate's marital indiscretions are irrelevant to their qualifications for being president. When told that reporters may ask whether he has ever cheated on his wife, Hart strongly retorts, "It's nobody's goddamn business!", which the team agrees is the perfect answer. Then Lee arrives, and the staff leaves. She tells Hart that she may leave him eventually, but not now. At the press conference, it is Parker who asks whether Hart has committed adultery. Instead of giving the rehearsed answer, Hart weakly stammers that he doesn't think it is a fair question. Later, Parker asks for comment from the campaign on the anonymous photos the ''Post'' received. Seeing how upset Lee is over the public scrutiny and its negative impacts on their family, Hart drops out of the campaign. Onscreen text states that "Gary and Lee Hart remain married to this day".

Cast

Hart Campaign *

as Lee Hart, Gary Hart's wife *

as Bill Dixon, campaign manager * Mark O'Brien as Billy Shore, Hart's

body man In U.S. political jargon, a civilian personal assistant who accompanies the president of the United States virtually everywhere is referred to as a body man or body woman. These personal aides to the president are often responsible for arrangin ...

Molly Ephraim Molly Ephraim (born May 22, 1986) is an American actress who has appeared in films, television, and Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theater productions. She is best known for her role as Mandy Baxter on the ABC sitcom '' Last Man Standing' ...

as Irene Kelly, campaign scheduler * Chris Coy as Kevin Sweeney, press secretary *

Alex Karpovsky Alexander Karpovsky (born September 23, 1975)Rick PorterAlex Karpovsky - Apple TV ''Apple TV'' is an American director, actor, screenwriter, producer and film editor. He is best known for playing Ray Ploshansky on the HBO comedy-drama series ''Gi ...

as Mike Stratton, advance man *

Josh Brener Joshua Max Brener is an American actor. He played the roles of Kyle on the IFC series ''Maron'' and Nelson "Big Head" Bighetti on the HBO series ''Silicon Valley''. In animation, he provides the voices of Donatello on ''Rise of the Teenage Mutan ...

as Doug Wilson, policy advisor *

Tommy Dewey Thomas R. Dewey (born August 3, 1978) is an American actor, producer, and writer. He co-starred with Michaela Watkins in the Hulu original series '' Casual.'' Early life Dewey was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He went to Mountain Brook High School ...

as John Emerson, deputy campaign manager *

Kaitlyn Dever Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (; born December 21, 1996) is an American actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the FX crime drama television series '' Justified'' (2011–2015), the ABC/ Fox sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021), the N ...

as Andrea Hart, Gary and Lee Hart's daughter * Oliver Cooper as Joe Trippi, deputy political director *

Jenna Kanell Jenna Kanell is an American actress, director, writer, and stunt performer. She gained recognition for her portrayals of Tara Heyes in ''Terrifier'' (2016) and Kim Hansen in ''The Bye Bye Man'' (2017)—both horror films in which she performed her ...

as Ginny Terzano, deputy press secretary ''Washington Post'' *

Ben Bradlee Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee (, 1921 – , 2014) was an American journalist who served as managing editor, then as executive editor of ''The Washington Post'', from 1965 to 1991. He became a public figure when the ''Post'' joined ''The New Y ...

Mamoudou Athie Mamoudou Athie ( ) is a Mauritanian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the 2022 Netflix horror series ''Archive 81'' and supporting roles in films including ''Jurassic World: Dominion'' (2022). Athie began his career in theater� ...

as A.J. Parker *

Ari Graynor Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress, known for her roles in TV series such as ''I'm Dying Up Here'', ''The Sopranos'' and ''Fringe'', in stage productions such as '' Brooklyn Boy'' and ''The Little Dog Laughed'', an ...

Ann Devroy Ann Mary Devroy ( ; 9 October 1948 – 23 October 1997) was an American political journalist. She was a White House correspondent for 15 years, for the Gannett Company, ''USA Today'' (1979–1985), and ''The Washington Post'' (1989–1997). S ...

John Bedford Lloyd John Bedford Lloyd (born January 2, 1956) is an American character actor. Life and career Lloyd was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of Ann Storrs Lloyd and Edward B. Lloyd of Southport, Connecticut. His father was an architect. He has a s ...

David Broder David Salzer Broder (September 11, 1929March 9, 2011) was an American journalist, writing for ''The Washington Post'' for over 40 years. He was also an author, television news show pundit, and university lecturer. For more than half a century ...

* Spencer Garrett as

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

''Miami Herald'' *

Steve Zissis Steve Zissis ( el, Στηβ Ζήσης; born December 17, 1975) is an American actor, writer and producer. A longtime friend of Jay and Mark Duplass, he has appeared in and co-produced some of their productions, including the films '' Baghead'' ...

as Tom Fiedler *

Bill Burr William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, most notably ''Why Do I Do This?'' (2008), ''Let It Go'' (2010), '' You People Are ...

as Pete Murphy *

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

as Bob Martindale *

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director and musician. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present), and the co-cre ...

as Jim Dunn Miami *

Sara Paxton Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...

Toby Huss Tobias Huss (born December 9, 1966) is an American actor, known for portraying Artie in the Nickelodeon series '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' (1993–1996). He is also known for his voice-over work on the long-running animated series ''King of ...

as Billy Broadhurst, lobbyist Traveling Press *

Jennifer Landon Jennifer Rachel Landon is an American actress. She is known for her role as Teeter on the Paramount Network series, ''Yellowstone'' (2020–present). She is also known for her role as Gwen Norbeck Munson in the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns ...

as Ann McDaniel Presidential biographer and historian

Jon Meacham Jon Ellis Meacham (; born May 20, 1969) is an American writer, reviewer, historian and presidential biographer who is serving as the current Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral since November 7, 2021. A former executive editor ...

appears in a cameo role as the moderator of a Georgetown town hall.

Production

Development

Political columnist

became interested in American Senator

after writing a 2003 profile of him for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and he released the book on which the film is based, ''All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid'', in 2014. The screenplay for the film was written by filmmaker

, Bai, and former

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

press secretary

. Reitman also produced with

Helen Estabrook Helen Estabrook is an American TV/film producer and executive known for producing the film '' Whiplash'' (2014), which earned her a nomination for Academy Award for Best Picture at the 87th ceremony. She is Head of Global Film and Television at C ...

for Right of Way Films, and

Aaron L. Gilbert Bron Studios (stylized as BRON) is a Canadian motion picture company based in British Columbia owned by Bron Media Corporation. Bron's notable productions include '' Joker, Bombshell, Queen & Slim, Greyhound, Judas and the Black Messiah,'' ' ...

produced for

Bron Studios Bron Studios (stylized as BRON) is a Canadian motion picture company based in British Columbia owned by Bron Media Corporation. Bron's notable productions include '' Joker, Bombshell, Queen & Slim, Greyhound, Judas and the Black Messiah,'' '' ...

Casting

In June 2017, it was reported that

would portray Gary Hart in ''The Front Runner''. In August 2017, the extended cast list for the film was announced, including

as Hart's wife Oletha "Lee" Hart,

as Gary and Lee's daughter Andrea Hart,

as journalist

, and

as Bill Dixon, Hart's 1988 presidential campaign manager and longtime friend. The following month,

and

joined the cast in unspecified roles. In October 2017, Chris Coy was cast as press secretary Kevin Sweeney.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

began on September 18, 2017, in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, with Jackman revealing the first image from the set that day. Production took place in both

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

and

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Release

In May 2018,

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

and

Stage 6 Films Stage 6 Films, Inc. is an American film production label of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions that acquires and produces feature films that are low budget and that are being released straight-to-DVD, on demand, or through streaming services. S ...

acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film at the

71st Cannes Film Festival The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett acted as President of the Jury. The Japanese film '' Shoplifters'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, won the Palme d'Or. Asghar Farhadi's psych ...

, with a planned awards season release. It had its world premiere at the

on August 31, 2018, and screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

on September 8. ''The Front Runner'' began its

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, the first film to ever be released on

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ...

in the United States. It then expanded to 22 theaters on November 16, and nationwide on November 21.

Reception

Box office

The film made $6,849 from four theaters on its first day (an average of $1,712 per screen), a figure ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...

'' noted as underwhelming; however, the site wrote that it is rare for a film to open limited on a Tuesday, and the film's impending opening weekend would be the true gauge of its box office strength. It ended up making $56,000 in its opening weekend (a six-day total of $76,199), which ''Deadline'' called "awful" and "really horrible when you consider that it's a limited launch of an awards contender wannabe." During its theatrical run, ''The Front Runner'' earned $2,000,105 at the domestic box office.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of ; the website's critical consensus reads: "''The Front Runner'' exhumes the wreckage of a political campaign with well-acted wit, even if it neglects to truly analyze the issues it raises." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Front Runner, The (film) 2018 films 2018 biographical drama films 2010s political drama films Films about adultery in the United States American biographical drama films American political drama films Bron Studios films Columbia Pictures films Drama films based on actual events Films about elections Films about the mass media in the United States Films directed by Jason Reitman Films produced by Jason Reitman Films scored by Rob Simonsen Films set in 1984 Films set in 1987 Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Savannah, Georgia Films with screenplays by Jason Reitman Stage 6 Films films 2018 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films