MovieChat Forums > Political Animals (2012) Discussion > Well that was disappointing

Well that was disappointing

posted 12 years ago by celavie77
7 replies | jump to latest

I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this! The acting is great and I love basically every actor individually and I was assuming they couldn't assemble this dream team without some stunning writing. And there were a couple marginally profound monologues, like the President's little speech about not getting things through congress and the public not paying attention, but even they were wooden and ran too long. And there was some slightly funny stuff, like Elaine's mom's jokes.

But BOY was everything so bogged down with the trashy, soapiness. They really just have no compelling political stories to tell. The hostage crisis was more like an afterthought amidst all the scandal. It felt more like an outsiders made up, soapy fantasy of what goes on in Hilary's life, with the hostage crisis tacked on to pretend that they were trying to be realistic about her being Secretary of State. I loved Jack and Bobby (and Everwood lol) so I just assumed Greg Berlanti could pull this off. But no.

I HATED Elaine's monologue about how much she needed to sleep with Bud when the TJ story was leaked and then the slow pan to reveal Bud's face. UGH. What a cliche.

Maybe I've been spoiled with The Good Wife. I've complained about how TGW is often unrealistic with politics, how it sometimes feels too much of a fantasy, but Political Animals takes that to a whole new level. TGW at least has some very interesting things to say about corruption and power and some fairly interesting real-life political stories. And I would take Alicia or even Peter Florrick over any of the politicians on this show any day of the week. They're just so soapy and trashy.

Carla Gugino was really amazing though imo. I'm really stunned that even in a cast of super stars she really stood out as slightly awkward, but calm, collected, withdrawn, and VERY journalistic and oddly familiar. I feel like she must have done a ton of research watching old school journalists and their mannerisms. Sigourney was of course amazing, but I'm a little surprised at all her gushing about this show and this role. She's too smart for this. The whole cast is.

I think I'll still watch it hoping it will improve, but unless they really step up the political story lines and really ground the characters and their lives some more, I don't know how it will sustain itself.

[–] neoyorquina 12 years ago

I agree with everything you said. I was very disappointed by the pilot and I'm not optimistic that it can get better from there. Too many flaws in the show. The writing is weak and I'm not keen on some of the acting.

[–] Niki_Catalina 12 years ago

A bit boring and long winded; BUT Carla Gugino really WAS amazing!

"When people run in circles its a very very - Mad World"

[–] celavie77 12 years ago

Riiite?! I think she really stole the show. It helps that her character is seemingly the only one with any sense of decorum.

I hope she gets an Emmy nod. Moreover, I kind of hope this show will just succeed to keep her in this role. She's just killing it so much!

[–] SophiaReynolds 12 years ago

I agree with everything you wrote. I was so excited for the pilot, and got bored in the middle. It wasn't as classy as they hyped it to be. I felt the soapiness that you did. I LOVED Berg, she was a great character!! Totally stole the show. Her & Elaine's scenes were the only REALLY exciting parts. I felt that they focused on the unimportant things and ignored the politics of the US in a lot of ways, like the Iran journalist thing.

Hopefully the next episode is better. I haven't given up yet. I'm hoping that this one was so disappointing because they were trying to explain too much in one episode to give us a solid background and so everything felt rushed, and next week we can get into the real thought out drama.

[–] celavie77 12 years ago

Ohhh yes they definitely made it out to be a hell of a lot classier. Actually, now that I think about it, the trailer, the one with every character being interviewed, was WAY better than the pilot. All the promos were better than the pilot, even the one featuring the Ke$ha song LOL. The characters came off really well and so poised. I loved TJ saying "it's a house! it really is just a house" and Elaine's little smile at the end and her laughs. I wish they had just extended that trailer to an hour and made that the pilot...

I LOVED Berg, she was a great character!! Totally stole the show. Her & Elaine's scenes were the only REALLY exciting parts.

And glad to see someone else loved Berg/Gugino! But again, the promos made her even better. There was one where her character was being interviewed by herself and I just loved her mannerisms and poise and how she ended it by slamming her glass on the table and asking "are we done?" Awesome...
She should just get her own spin off. I imagine the world of high stakes journalism would be easier to render than this half-assed attempt at showing international politics.

I felt that they focused on the unimportant things and ignored the politics of the US in a lot of ways, like the Iran journalist thing.

Exactly. It was just such a half-assed rendering of this complex world. The Good Wife only focuses on state-level politics and somehow makes it crazy compelling and feel real. They really should have tried for SOME realism here.

I'm hoping that this one was so disappointing because they were trying to explain too much in one episode to give us a solid background and so everything felt rushed, and next week we can get into the real thought out drama.

That is a really good point and a possibility. I'm not as hopefully as you though! But I definitely hope it improves. There's so much potential here, even despite all the things they've already messed up. The weird thing is, the USA execs apparently green lit this mini series based entirely on the pilot script, and have been very gushy about the pilot, so I'm worried that maybe the pilot was actually the BEST episode. Yikes...

[–] Scaar_Alexander 12 years ago

Carla Gugino ALWAYS stand out, even in front of Sigourney Weaver. Her movie career isn't brilliant, but she sure deserves it.

As for the show in itself, I found it entertaining enough, but it's a disappointment indeed. I've never seen the West Wing, but each time I watch a show taking place in the White House, I like to compare it with Rod Lurie's The Contender (a masterpiece imho if we put aside the regrettable ending). I know it's unfair, but well. And in this case, the dialogues of Political Animals (not a very appealing nor original title btw) suffer the comparison. Talking about the West Wing, I'm currently watching Sorkin's The Newsroom. A tad soapy, but there again, the dialogues are top-notch, and I couldn't help thinking about it while I watched Political Animals...

[–] lamont-hard 12 years ago

I really enjoyed it. I felt the ex president stole the whole program with his acting and great cunning, I love just about all the characters. It may have to many irons in the fire for a pilot but i am sure they will whittle it down some.

IF I were to predict the future of this show it will strive on how two women Bitch%%s as they call themselves (not me) in parallel worlds (Journalist, Politics) become allies and run with it. I found it interesting. As I did with them both being attached to men they hate but at the moment need.

I don't get the elephant plot just yet, but I am sure it will mean more as the series progresses. There are two leads in this show witch I like better than one person being behind all the comedy and drama. It seems to get us to focus on more and spreads it out better so if one does not like a particular story then they can latch onto something else.

I really like the concept on two women with different skills sets running on one program.