Power

What Lumet did for American broadcasting in Network, he tries to do here for the political campaign trail, with Gere - media consultant to American political hopefuls - to personify the transference of power from candidates and parties to those experts who can best manipulate the tube. Although it puts him in direct competition with his former mentor (Hackman), Gere takes up a suspicious newcomer (Walsh) at the request of a Washington lobbyist (Denzel Washington) whose underhanded dealings eventually reawaken his own political convictions. Despite making use of Hackman, Christie and Marshall in supporting roles, and actual US newscasters to cover the election results, the film is still a complete mess. Barely held together by Cy Coleman's powerful score, it finally falls apart thanks to the embarrassing amateurism of the party political broadcasts the characters produce, and the Vidal Sassoon world they inhabit.