Jason Reitman fell of the quality bandwagon with “Labor Day” and “Men, Women and Children,” those two duds almost nullified the excellent one-two punch he had with "Juno" and "Up in the Air." However, this past year he released his dreamy and surreal ode to motherhood “Tully,” which was a near perfect film, despite its lame twist ending. Now Reitman is back with his second film in the same year, which will be having its premiere this week at Telluride, “The Front Runner.”
"The Front Runner" is based on Matt Bai’s 2014 book “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid,” which dealt with the true story of Presidential candidate Gary Hart's campaign and the sex scandal that ensured. Reitman will surely be shooting darts at the 24-hour news cycle, a theme that feels more resonant today than ever before.
Here’s the official synopsis:
"Hugh Jackman is set to star in the upcoming biopic “The Front Runner,” about former Senator Gary Hart. Hart served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado from 1975 to 1987, but is most famous for his two bids for the presidency in 1984 and 1988. During the latter primary campaign, he was considered the frontrunner, far ahead of eventual candidate Mike Dukakis, but his momentum became hobbled by accusations in the media of an extramarital affair. Hart famously challenged the media to, “Follow me around. I don’t care. I’m serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They’ll be very bored.” The tabloids accepted the challenge, and photographs of Hart with a woman named Donna Rice aboard a yacht brought a swift end to his candidacy."
The film’s cast includes Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, Kaitlyn Dever, Sara Paxton, J. K. Simmons, Mamoudou Athie, Molly Ephraim, Josh Brener, and Mike Judge.
“The Front Runner” will be released on November 7.
