"The Contender" *is* biased -- loopily biased. It could very easily have played as broad comedy, so cartoonish it is. Indeed, in many places it did play as a broad cartoon -- especially Gary Olman's Henry-Hyde-by-way-of-Snidely-Whiplash. ("I am appalled at this [Drudge] Report which alledges you traded sexual favors for money. That it accuses you of outright prostitution. I applaud you for failing to rebut these disgusting charges, and to just ignore www.drudgereport.com." -- that's an actual quote from the movie, except they call the drudge report the "Thomas report" or something.)
It's a political entertainment for people who find the West Wing too "complex."
Cal, I don't get your schtick about "no easy villains." That's ludicrous. Oldman is as easy a villain as they come. Sure, they make Christian Slater a sort-of bad Democrat, but he does the right thing at the end.
This is always your claim -- that the fact that their are flawed Democratic heroes, and a few Democratic villains, makes a tv show or film "balanced" and "unbiased."
This is absurd. The Contender features at least three liberal heroes (President, Joan Allen, feminist FBI agent) and one cartoonish Republican villain.
The fact that there are also two grey Democrats does not change this.
There are three Democratic heroes and one black-hat-and-drooping-moustache Republican villain. A couple of minor grey Democratic heroes does not balance the main players.
The film "Dave" had one grey Democrat (the real President), lots of goopy goody-goody Democrat heroes (the guy impersonating Dave, the Veep, the first lady), and one Snidely Whiplash Republican villain. It is ludicrous to claim that "Dave" is balanced.
It's a bullshit cover-your-ass pretense of balance, but it's no balance at all.
