TANNER '88 - DVD review

"In this country, being arrested over a principal is a liability. It says 60s. It says loser. Better to be busted on a few DUIs like Bush. It says cars and beer. It says manly. It says America." - Jack Tanner

"Tanner '88," directed by Robert Altman and written by Garry Trudeau, satirizes a modern political landscape in its last faltering moments before being completely subsumed and commoditized by a world dominated by the television sound bite. The new Criterion Collection DVD includes all 11 half-hour episodes (the first episode is an hour long) that aired on HBO during the 1988 campaign season.

Jack Tanner, played ably and amiably by Altman favorite Michael Murphy, is the fake candidate who ran alongside the real politicians all the way to the Democratic Convention. The cast is populated by the staffers on his almost impossibly low-budget campaign, most notably the coffee achieving T.J. Cavanaugh (Pamela Reed) who does the best she can with limited funds and some decidedly limited staff members.

One of the main themes of the film is the growing importance of television in political campaigns, personified by the election and overwhelming popularity of the ultimate boob tube president, the empty-suit himself Ronald Reagan. Unlike Ronnie, Jack just isn't made for TV. He speaks eloquently and sincerely but only in personal settings; he freezes up on camera and has absolutely no sense of how to take advantage of a photo op. Jack also tries ferociously to maintain a private life while trying not to wither under the relentless public scrutiny of the omnipresent cameras.

He's joined on the campaign trail by his daughter Alex (an impossibly young, fresh-faced Cynthia Nixon) who still has all the passion and idealism dad once had and the series makes great play of the contrast between her youthful zeal and his mature pragmatism. Another main theme of Tanner '88 emerges from this; it's an elegy, of sorts, for the 1960s. Not that Altman or Trudeau romanticize the era; they just miss it. Jack can only shake his head in despair when his discussion of the civil rights movement at a campaign event prompts the question: "What's Selma?" When Jack gets arrested at an anti-Apartheid rally, it's not received as a triumphant moment of political activism but rather an embarrassing mistake for which he must apologize to the press.

Altman has often been described as a sociologist, and here he turns his eye to the subculture of the political campaign trail, as well as the subcultures within the subculture. Staffers, reporters, photographers, celebrities - they all have their place in this curious, semi-dysfunctional little family, each dependent on and in direct conflict with the other. Altman's strategy is to wind them up all up and set them in motion, creating the impression of real characters existing in a real space. The videocamera glides through crowded rooms, capturing character's reactions or snippets of conversation, semi-documentary style, though viewer's today might identify it more in the vein of reality programming.

Adding to the documentary feel is the frequent appearance of real-life politicos and celebrities. Jack Tanner might be a fake candidate but he rubs elbows "For Real" with people like Gary Hart, Bob Dole, Pat Robertson, and Kitty Dukakis (and we're reminded that there was once a time when Michael Dukakis was actually a major political force - is it even possible?) Altman rarely scripted their scenes, instead just giving them a sense of the general scenario and letting them speak "as themselves." Amazingly enough, Jack Tanner had picked up enough buzz from the "real" press in 1988 that politicians were actually eager to appear on the show, even right in the heat of the actual campaign.

Altman and Trudeau resist the urge to portray Jack as the liberal "dream date" candidate; for one thing, he never seems to commit fully to a position, instead hesitating and looking for feedback from others. He's also more than a little aloof, frequently making his campaigners, most of whom work for nothing, feel alienated and unappreciated. The filmmakers do, however, indulge in a bit of leftist fantasy when naming Tanner's hypothetical Cabinet, the highlights being Gloria Steinem as Secretary of Health and Human Services and Ralph Nader as Attorney General. You can practically hear the Wall Street brokers scrambling to buy puts.

Altman claims Tanner '88 inspired him to do his most creative work. Whether you agree with him will depend on the degree to which you find this political subculture interesting. No doubt, die-hard political junkies will treasure this series. Personally, while I enjoyed the film for Murphy's subdued, assured performance and Cynthia Nixon's naïve energy, I had only a lukewarm response to the considerable time spent on the day-to-day machinations of Tanner's campaign. A simple test: if you love Doonesbury, you might love Tanner '88.

The series ends somewhat abruptly in Episode 11 as Jack decides whether or not to continue his campaign. Altman had planned to shoot one or two more episodes but they never materialized. However, he did return to his cast of characters 16 years later, in 2004's "Tanner on Tanner." My review of that series can also be found here on DVDTown.

VIDEO:

The DVD is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The series was shot on video with extensive handheld work though also with some fairly elaborate camera movements. The net result is something which looks like part newscast, part home movie and part student film. The transfer is clean and professional just as you would expect from Criterion.

AUDIO:

The DVD is presented in Dolby Digital Surround. The sound design is pretty simple and the dialogue is clear. The incredibly grating "Exercise Your Right to Vote" theme song, in all its permutations, is also well mixed. There are no elaborate sound effects. There are no subtitles. Optional English language closed captions support the audio.

EXTRAS:

For a Criterion release, this DVD is shockingly bare bones. The one and only extra is a 20-minute discussion between Altman and Trudeau. It's a treat for fans of either man but it's quite surprising that Criterion couldn't offer anything else, not even any promotional features. If you buy this DVD, you're buying it strictly for the series.

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

Michael Murphy bears at least a passing resemblance to John Kerry and some of the other parallels seem striking. How much have things changed since 1988? Try this quote on for size: "(Today we have) a White House that is intellectually inert… and bored by introspection and ideas of substance." Were those words spoken by Jack Tanner in 1988 or John Kerry in 2004? I guess it doesn't matter.

Trudeau once went in search of Reagan's brain. I wonder if he ever imagined we might have a president who would make the Gipper seem like a hidebound Ivy League academician.