AS WE WERE SEATED, EATING DINNER, the candidate was walking around to each table introducing herself. Though I could appreciate the face-to-face introduction, I was told her behavior was highly inappropriate because the dinner was supposed to be a bipartisan casual event free of political campaigning. I saw the other candidate sitting at a table with a glass of wine, laughing and talking with the other guests at their table. There was very little I knew about each candidate, only what state they represented and their previous profession. Outside of playing a mayor in a school play and seeing political candidates at various fundraisers or parades, this was the closest in proximity I have been to a candidate. I much prefer a candidate that does things that brings them in contact with the voters, such as knocking on doors, hanging out at train stop or town hall meetings. Getting a pre-recorded message on the phone, which I feel is out of control based on the amount I got the past year; or those pesky flyers in the mail does not sway my opinion of a person running for office. If anything, I might think they are wasting money based on the deluge of junk mail I have received and the automated phone calls.      THERE WAS A TIME WHEN AN average citizen could run for office. These days many of the candidates, from what I know, are millionaires. And with being a millionaire, the amount of money that they pour into their campaigns is obscene. The money they spend could easily feed every person in a large city or two or three. I do not understand what changed to make it so expensive to run for office. Instead of pouring money into the various advertisements, I would make each candidate canvas on foot different neighborhoods. If a candidate spends most of their time bad mouthing their opponent instead of explaining what they wish to do in office, I quickly discount their ability in becoming a leader. One of the news sources I read does fact checking on candidates’ statements/claims. It stuns me how often than not what the candidate is saying is false. When did it become acceptable to flat out lie or start false rumors? Denying facts and science is simply a shameful act in my opinion. To me elections are important enough that I feel election day should be a national holiday; everybody has the day off so they can participate in an important event. Maybe I am being naïve; I do not know. However, if even a part of the scenes in this comedic drama are based on truth; then the election process needs an upgrade.      TRYING TO RECOVER FROM A HEAVY LOSS, a political strategist agrees to handle the campaign of a small-town private citizen. Whether a big national campaign or small town, winning comes at any cost. With Steve Carell (The Big Short, Welcome to Marwen) as Gary Zimmer, Rose Byrne (Peter Rabbit franchise, Instant Family) as Faith Brewster, Chris Cooper (Live by Night, August: Osage County) as Jack Hastings, Brent Sexton (Flightplan, The Belko Experiment) as Mayor Braun and Will Sasso (The Three Stooges, Happy Gilmore) as Big Mike; the cast was well chosen for their roles, though Steve and Rose stood out for me. I thought they worked well together. The idea behind the script was absolutely spot on; but I felt its execution was a hit and miss. There were scenes that were dynamite, both wicked and funny and then other scenes came out flat. Without much character development, the characters started to look like typical stereotypes instead of full-fledged human beings. Overall, this was a valiant try at satire, comedy and drama; yet it still scares me a little that things in here might be possible. There was an extra scene during the ending credits.                        

2 ¼ stars