Bayside resident Mark Metcalf is an actor who has worked in movies, TV and on the stage. He is best known for his work in "Animal House," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Seinfeld."

In addition to his work on screen, Metcalf is involved with the Milwaukee International Film Festival, First Stage Children's Theater and a number of other projects.

He also finds time to write about movies for OnMadison.com. This week, Metcalf weighs in on "The Contender" and Eddie Izzard's "Dressed to Kill."

THE CONTENDER (2000)

In the great Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," Jimmy Stewart heroically filibusters against some immoral bill that has been set forth by Claude Raines, who plays the manipulative, politically cynical Senator from a western state, who has lived and worked inside the Beltway for so long that he can't even pick your pocket without smiling and telling you how much better you are going to feel.

Stewart is a freshman Senator, a replacement, I believe, and a naïve innocent abroad in the smiling cesspool of Washington, DC. We are all so cynical now about the workings of government that Stewart's final outpouring of sentiment about the Constitution and what it means to seek and uphold the truth of American democracy may be hard to listen to. It probably sounds "corny".

Jeff Bridges' speech at the end of "The Contender" probably sounds "corny" to some people now. There are critics who fault it for its righteousness. Stewart always makes me cry because of how strong and brave you have to be in order to be good in certain parts of the world, and Bridges makes me cry here for the same reasons. Righteousness is OK if it's on your side. It is probably true that the kind of dignity, intelligence, courage and humanity that he shows in standing by his choice of a woman for Vice President, a woman who has been slandered and dragged through the slime that only the fevered media and fanatic fundamentalists can produce, his kind of courage probably only exists in movies and only a movie writer could articulate it. But it is inspiring to see and hear the movie characters make the choices that you know you would make if you were in the same position. You know you would. Thank goodness you don't have to.

The melodrama of this film is sometimes disappointing. Gary Oldman, as the corrupt and righteous Congressman who runs the Judicial Committee advise and consent hearings to instate the new Vice President, is wonderful, as mannered and operatic as he is, but it is hard to buy a Congressman going as far off the hook publicly, in front of cameras, as he does about abortion rights.

And it is hard to imagine anyone in public office withstanding the onslaught of bad press, far beyond innuendo, which comes at Joan Allen's character, the woman, the Senator, who is selected by the President to take the place of his Vice President, who has died suddenly. But, one of the reasons we have literature, movie literature in particular, is to make heroes for us.

I was watching a rerun of a 1992 Presidential Debate between the first President Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot. The word, and the concept, of "character" were tossed around pretty handily. Much the way "change" is tossed around these days. It is hard to imagine anyone bringing more intelligence, strength, commitment to purpose and sense of responsibility, in other words "character," to the part of the Vice Presidential candidate than Joan Allen. Besides being stalwart and true, intelligent and brave, she is also fun, funny and enjoys herself in bed. She is also a self-proclaimed atheist. Politicians in real life just aren't this honest and still successful. But Joan Allen makes me buy it all.

The film is well made. It moves along at a nice clip, so you never lose interest. The writer/director has written a very intelligent script. Intelligent words in smart, well educated people's mouths. He does pull a few typical Hollywood misdirection tricks: intentionally getting you to think in one direction so that it is easier to surprise you at the end.

I always resent that. I find it condescending in some way and usually I am not surprised. We have to accept this manipulation, I suppose, because we are dealing with political people. Politicians, like Hollywood people, are all liars and schemers interested only in getting your dollars from you. Or, as Norman Maclean said "Hollywood people will eat what they find run over in the road." Lately, I think politicians chase it down the road, run over it, then bring it home to eat, and I feel like the "it".

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