Tanner '88 (1988)
Directed by Robert Altman
Genres - Comedy |
Sub-Genres - Political Satire, Satire |
Run Time - 30 min. |
Countries - United States |
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Written by Garry Trudeau and directed by Robert Altman, this is an amusingly vicious squint at the American electoral process. Michael Murphy plays Jack Tanner, Democratic Presidential nominee. Also featured are Cynthia Nixon as Jack's teenage daughter Alex, and Pamela Reed as campaign manager T. J. Cavanaugh. Despite the mocking nature of the material, the "cinema verite" style and inclusion of real-life political figures (Bruce Babbitt, Kitty Dukakis) in cameos led some impressionable viewers to believe that Jack Tanner was an actual candidate--resulting in quite a few write-in votes in November! Originating as a two-part special, Tanner was expanded into twelve chapters, which ran irregularly from February 15 through August 27, 1988, on the HBO cable service.
Characteristics
Moods
Themes
Keywords
candidate, politics, politician, self-discovery, President, nomination
Attributes
High Artistic Quality