16 reviews
Campaign spin
There have been recent political campaign movies such as The Ides of March which had a more heavyweight cast. There are classics such as Robert Redford in The Candidate. Knife Fight reminds me of Sidney Lumet's Power from 1986 which also had a high calibre cast but a tepid reception by the critics and at the box office.
Rob Lowe plays Paul a highly sought after, cynical and ruthless election strategist. He declares, 'To win in politics, you have got to be the person who is willing to bring a gun to a knife fight.' Which is something Sean Connery said in The Untouchables before being shot a 100 times!
Paul can deal with any political disaster presumably such as those handled by the campaign team who dealt with Bill Clinton when he ran for Presidency the first time round, when his team realised that their was hardly any woman left in Arkansas that he had not slept with. In fact Chris Lehane, one of the co-writers was an aide to Clinton and Gore.
Paul deals with winners and over the years he has become jaded, cynical and has little time for people who are altruistic.
Things change when he takes on a doctor who runs a free clinic as a candidate for Governor and who tweaks the last shred of idealism left in him. Otherwise there are the usual politicians running for elections who are philanderers or are caught in some embarrassing situations that Paul needs to spin out.
The film is underwhelming and never strongly registers as the script is limp. Lowe underplays his role but apart from Carrie Ann Moss's idealistic character the rest of them are shallow and mean and they are supposed to be liberals as well.
As a political satire it does not work as it is not funny or biting enough. Even with story of the doctor you can guess the twist rather easily.
Rob Lowe plays Paul a highly sought after, cynical and ruthless election strategist. He declares, 'To win in politics, you have got to be the person who is willing to bring a gun to a knife fight.' Which is something Sean Connery said in The Untouchables before being shot a 100 times!
Paul can deal with any political disaster presumably such as those handled by the campaign team who dealt with Bill Clinton when he ran for Presidency the first time round, when his team realised that their was hardly any woman left in Arkansas that he had not slept with. In fact Chris Lehane, one of the co-writers was an aide to Clinton and Gore.
Paul deals with winners and over the years he has become jaded, cynical and has little time for people who are altruistic.
Things change when he takes on a doctor who runs a free clinic as a candidate for Governor and who tweaks the last shred of idealism left in him. Otherwise there are the usual politicians running for elections who are philanderers or are caught in some embarrassing situations that Paul needs to spin out.
The film is underwhelming and never strongly registers as the script is limp. Lowe underplays his role but apart from Carrie Ann Moss's idealistic character the rest of them are shallow and mean and they are supposed to be liberals as well.
As a political satire it does not work as it is not funny or biting enough. Even with story of the doctor you can guess the twist rather easily.
- Prismark10
- Jan 12, 2016
- Permalink
Could you withstand the scrutiny
Some years ago I had a ood Assemblymember representing me in Albany. At least he epresented my point of view aboit 95% of the time. He got caught up in a
sex scandal and managed to survive it for two more election cycles.
Watching Knife Fight I thought of him immdiately and it occured to me we lose a lot of good people who get caught up in these things. A lot of good people also never go into public service because they don't want their lives under a microscope. How many of us could withstand the scrutiny?
Rob Lowe and Richard Schiff veterans of West Wing star n tis political drama about a pair of political operators. Lowe has some idealim, but does what he has to for his candidates. Schiff prefers the low road in any event.
The film is scene through the eyes of their new employee Jamie Chung and by the end of the film she has learned her lessons well.
Their three candidates rnning for statewde office Lowe's firm is managing and all have crises of a sort. Eric McCormack the governor of Kentucky who is a Bill Clinton like figure whose libido may get the best of him. David Harbour a Senator from Massachusetts who made one indiscretion that could cost hi his career. Finally my favorite from nife Fight, Carrie Anne Moss an idealistic doctor who runs a medical clinic who wants to be governor of California and for all the right reasons.
Moss is my favorite from the film, but it is a well cast and directed piece ofwork. And one of te most realisti political films out there.
Watching Knife Fight I thought of him immdiately and it occured to me we lose a lot of good people who get caught up in these things. A lot of good people also never go into public service because they don't want their lives under a microscope. How many of us could withstand the scrutiny?
Rob Lowe and Richard Schiff veterans of West Wing star n tis political drama about a pair of political operators. Lowe has some idealim, but does what he has to for his candidates. Schiff prefers the low road in any event.
The film is scene through the eyes of their new employee Jamie Chung and by the end of the film she has learned her lessons well.
Their three candidates rnning for statewde office Lowe's firm is managing and all have crises of a sort. Eric McCormack the governor of Kentucky who is a Bill Clinton like figure whose libido may get the best of him. David Harbour a Senator from Massachusetts who made one indiscretion that could cost hi his career. Finally my favorite from nife Fight, Carrie Anne Moss an idealistic doctor who runs a medical clinic who wants to be governor of California and for all the right reasons.
Moss is my favorite from the film, but it is a well cast and directed piece ofwork. And one of te most realisti political films out there.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 20, 2020
- Permalink
Decent Political Picture...
- MovieHoliks
- Jun 10, 2015
- Permalink
Knife Fight with Battle Hymn of the Republic
To get elected in office, according to 'Knife Fight', all which is found outside the conventional playbook of politics should be given opportunity, for the good candidate to become governor elected. Even if there's collateral damage attached to the level of having a college girl's life ruined, upto attempted suicides. The far-out morals choices reported today in Washup DC Politics have apparently spread out to Nation, State and County Politics Campaign affairs, where the subversion apparently has sunken back to the level of Roman Empire days, when Julius was stabbed by Brutus. The mantra of fighting crime by hiring even more dangerous criminals is something which has today infected all kinds of aspects of life, where by all means good, bad, legal and or violating state laws, will give the good Lady or Lord the much aspired seat if High Office. This is the theme which is extensively illustrated inside 'Knife Fight' where the end result seems OK. There is one downer though. When the end titles run a small parody of the Battle Hymn of the Republic is played. This is sadly one step beyond the much admired seat in the office of Hollywood fame.
Good
The audience gets is a casserole of movie elements and little of the satisfaction that comes from watching these types of movies. It's one of those films for which I could guess the plot exactly before I saw it. You can predict the whole movie and ending easily. Worse, these characters were walking cardboards. Overall, the film was..."eh". I was bored through most of it and I left the living room with no intentions to ever see it again. From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them.
- manitobaman81
- Aug 21, 2014
- Permalink
It's dangerous to believe your own nonsense
The first rule of satire is remember that it's satire. Because there are three types of political movies. One, the Mr Smith Goes to Washington true believer movie; two, the anti political nihilist flick like The Parallax View and lastly, the satire. The two points you have to include in a satire are a, humor and b, a broad sense of farce. The problem this movie has is that it started with the goal of being satire but halfway through it drank the Kool Aid and capitulated to becoming Mr Smith. By the end, the people we're supposed to be poking fun at have become moral crusaders for the forces of good and all the things we were poking fun at have become virtues. It's neither one nor the other but a watered down mixture of both. The dirty tricks and outright crimes they commit are swept away as nothing more than data points on the road to moral supremacy. If your cause is just then not only do the ends justify the means but the dirtier they are the more virtuous the end. So without understanding how or that it is this movie becomes the most nihilistic of them all.
West Wing on a shoestring, minus the wit
As a big fan of West Wing (in spite of its heavy doses of Democratic propaganda), I recognized very soon where we were in this movie, and was happy to see West Wing alums Rob Lowe and Richard Schiff together. I thought a couple other faces might have been familiar from there, too, but nothing happened to make me care enough to go check. This is more like a fan-made "next episode" of something similar to the West Wing than like a well-developed movie project, though that's slightly more on the writing and directing end than on the acting and technical end. It isn't actually awful, but it certainly isn't that good. There's no heavy lifting to do, and perhaps as a result all of the performances seem fine but nothing rises above "fine". Nothing here challenges the performers or the director, or us, and so they, and we, just settle in for a pleasant ride.
There's no particular reason to see Knife Fight, but if you like the type of story (look at the awful things we do in election politics!) you may want to see it just for completeness. There's also no particular reason to avoid Knife Fight. Nothing in it is truly bad. However, now I wish I had just watched the far superior Ides of March (2011) again instead. Ides is an excellent modern look at the same topic also well treated in Robert Redford's The Candidate (1972). Knife Fight is not in the same league as either of those, but it is playing the same game.
If Candidate and Ides are the bookends, then Knife Fight is one of the books they hold up. I suppose that just as we have murder and romance stories written for beach reading, there could be political movies for beach watching, and this would be a fine entry there.
There's more that could be said, but honestly, how much time do you spend analyzing your beach novels?
There's no particular reason to see Knife Fight, but if you like the type of story (look at the awful things we do in election politics!) you may want to see it just for completeness. There's also no particular reason to avoid Knife Fight. Nothing in it is truly bad. However, now I wish I had just watched the far superior Ides of March (2011) again instead. Ides is an excellent modern look at the same topic also well treated in Robert Redford's The Candidate (1972). Knife Fight is not in the same league as either of those, but it is playing the same game.
If Candidate and Ides are the bookends, then Knife Fight is one of the books they hold up. I suppose that just as we have murder and romance stories written for beach reading, there could be political movies for beach watching, and this would be a fine entry there.
There's more that could be said, but honestly, how much time do you spend analyzing your beach novels?
Better for the little screen
- vincentlynch-moonoi
- Oct 27, 2013
- Permalink
Sharp high for Lowe
- Stephen_Bourne
- Mar 23, 2013
- Permalink
Don't pay to watch it
This movie is pretty much what you'd expect from liberal Hollywood. They get their share of cheap shots in at conservatives, Tea Party, etc. The campaign staff try to convey they pull dirty rotten tricks for both sides and then have an epiphany by the end of the movie. Hillary Clinton's real-life campaign corruption makes renting this movie a complete waste of money and makes this movie look like a complete fairy tale. I have to write ten lines of text for the review, so here I go. Not one of Rob Lowe's better movies. There is really nothing shocking about their behavior or low-life tactics unless you are an ill- informed, low information liberal.
Getting a Bad Rap
Brilliant! An awesome political movie; if you didn't like Rob Lowe before this, you will! This isn't a political drama where the stage is set on the candidate being in your face; the main focus. You won't see all the bells and whistles, big budget fight & gun scenes, and worn action dialog. Rather, this is a political drama built around dialog and characters. The main characters aren't the machine; moreover, the main characters are the cogs that run the machines. The reason comparisons to Primary Colors or Game Change doesn't work is because only thing in common/related is the political storyline. After watching there is a slight bias; however, Worth a DEFINITE watch!
- phillybug_23
- Jul 12, 2013
- Permalink
The director is a little too much in love with his characters
Rob Lowe gained experience delivering political babble in The West Wing, and in this idealized satire about the workings and techniques of political strategists, he puts that experience to good use, delivering his quick-witted lines in typical Aaron Sorkin-ish tempo and tone. The film delivers a few jabs at the American political system, especially campaign advertising, but when push comes to shove writer/director Bill Guttentag is a little too much in love with his characters and their flaunting talent for the film to have enough edge and make a lasting impression. And while the narrative structure is semi-fresh and the agenda well-meaning enough, there's really not much progress or development to incur during the course of these ninety plus minutes. This may well be the filmmakers making a point by paralleling politics, but if so, it's as slight a point as there ever was.
- fredrikgunerius
- Aug 17, 2023
- Permalink
A brilliant film is "Knife Fight"
"Knife Fight" is a brilliant film from 2012. And it is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The Director is Bill Guttentag. The writers are Bill Guttentag and Chris Lehane. Actors include Rob Lowe, Amanda Morrison, Julie Bowen, Jamie Chung, Carrie-Anne Moss, Saffron Burrows, David Harbour, Frances Shaw, Eric McComack and Vanessa Ross. Brilliant! An awesome political movie; if you didn't like Rob Lowe before this, you will! This isn't a political drama where the stage is set on the candidate being in your face; the main focus. You won't see all the bells and whistles, big budget fight & gun scenes, and worn action dialog. Rather, this is a political drama built around dialog and characters. The main characters aren't the machine; moreover, the main characters are the cogs that run the machines. The reason comparisons to Primary Colors or Game Change doesn't work is because only thing in common/related is the political storyline. After watching there is a slight bias; however, Worth a DEFINITE watch! Dale Haufrect
- dhaufrect-1
- May 8, 2015
- Permalink
Realistic political films...
Realistic political films that show behind the scenes, the gears of the truncated backstage of politics, tend to be boring and rotten, but here we have more rottenness surrounded by romanticism, good narrative, dramatic, even cute, with a hopeful bias, in a breath of honesty , almost languishing, good performances, questionable morals, laughable cliche in the third and last act, but I like extremely convenient and fake dramas, in short, politicians are honest, citizens are not always...
- RosanaBotafogo
- Jun 15, 2022
- Permalink
It was a scary political film
It was an interesting film. It is really scary that it really happens. No one ever is tells the truth it is just a worked out before they even open there mouths. Rob Lowe was great.
Don't Take It Seriously. This Movie Doesn't Either.
Hollywood has seen several political spin doctor satires in the past decade. A notable one being Barry Levinson's Wag The Dog starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. Knife Fight is set during the preliminary elections where Paul Turner (Lowe) has his hands full backing two major players - Larry Becker (McCormack) and Stephen Green (Harbour). These two are your standard issue senators: purists onscreen, pigs off-screen. And then, there's the saintly character (Carrie-Anne Moss) who in contrast is presented as a genuinely good person wanting to genuinely serve the society through the tainted prism of politics.
What I enjoyed and hated about Knife Fight was its mostly predictable and mostly comforting script. It doesn't take itself too seriously by blandly harbouring over the complex matter of ethics versus personality. Knife Fight manages to remain light-hearted and while that doesn't make it a worthy film, it's not a bad way of spending 90 minutes. If you like Rob Lowe - and desire a Sam Seaborn-Toby Ziegler reunion - this is it!
What I enjoyed and hated about Knife Fight was its mostly predictable and mostly comforting script. It doesn't take itself too seriously by blandly harbouring over the complex matter of ethics versus personality. Knife Fight manages to remain light-hearted and while that doesn't make it a worthy film, it's not a bad way of spending 90 minutes. If you like Rob Lowe - and desire a Sam Seaborn-Toby Ziegler reunion - this is it!
- sharansrinivas-g
- Aug 22, 2024
- Permalink