Tanner '88 - Criterion Collection (1988)

Written by a cartoonist

The concept is clever but the characters are one dimensional and, well, caricatures. Satire is important but anyone who'd even consider watching this is already too politically savvy to draw wisdom from observations like "in modern politics, the candidate's whole life is open to judgement".

Furthermore, it was shot in VHS video which looks terrible and the acting is not great (actor who plays Tanner the exception).

A reviewer on one site said he watched the whole thing in one sitting. If you are the type who can take in six hours of Altman's meandering camera and muddled dialogue, maybe you have a chance at enjoying this. Otherwise, just get Shortcuts and call it a day. July 21, 2008

Predicted fate in 08

Tanner 88 is a prescient addition to the catalog of mockumentary films initiated by Spinal Tap in 84. The presidential candidacy of Jack Tanner in 88, following a semi-scripted format, foretells the character of a future candidate, Barack Obama, who appears in the reprise, Tanner on Tanner. In that sequel, Obama's actual keynote address in 04 before the Democratic National Convention in Boston smacks of the glittering generalities mouthed by Tanner in 88: "We are not red states and blue states. We are the United States." Altman's skillful satiric skewering of politics, mass media, and in particular documentary film making demonstrate the common thread of style over substance. Early aspirations of pursuers in all three of those fields begin with high hopes for social justice, but substance is eventually gutted by the exigencies of compromise along the road to becoming a power player. One scene late in Tanner on Tanner exemplifies the schism between personal belief and public profession. In that scene, one film editing monitor shows a sweating Tanner in a racquetball court railing against the Bush presidency for taking this country into war with a "swinging dick," while an adjacent monitor shows Tanner telling Charlie Rose why the U.S. should stay the course in Iraq.

Altman's skillful breaking the frame of the journalism's fourth wall and the intermingling of actors and real life characters create a suspension of disbelief that had me caring about what happened to Tanner and his daughter after 04.
January 27, 2008

Robert Altman's Mockumentary MASTERPIECE

This is one of the most important things Alman's done. Which is probably why it's one of his favorites along with MASH and NASHVILLE and SHORT CUTS. It is a political satire set in the '88 presidential election. It has everything and more, even a sequal, Tanner On Tanner. Very smart and sophisticated. CHECH IT OUT NOW!!!!!! July 11, 2006

Cool mini-series

This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the series.

Tanner 88 is a TV miniseries which aired on HBO during the 1988 election year. It portrays the campaign a fictional presidential candidate by the name of Jack Tanner.

He is ultra liberal and nominates Ralph Nader for Commerce secratary, Gloria Steinem for Health secratary and other actvists for cabinet positions.

The film has a cast of many famous people playing themselves, including the late country singer, Waylon Jennings, Bob Dole, Pat Robertson, Gary Hart, and many others.

The show ran for 11 episodes starting with the beginning of his campaign to his loss of the nomination to Michael Dukakis.

I found it to be interesting and had some interesting humor in it also. Also since the show aired on HBO it contains language and scenes not shown on regular television. It would get a TV MA for language and sensuality if aired today.

The Criterion DVD includes new interviews with the show's creators Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman. It also has cast members reprising their roles for introductory 'interviews' for each episode. These were first shown during the airing of the series on the Sundance Channel in 2004

This overall was an interesting change of pace from the normal issuing of films on Criterion and I think it is more than a coincidence that it was released less than a month before the real 2004 presidential election. March 11, 2005

Tanner is for real

Tanner is an odd bird, it hasn't aged quite as well as i thought it would...yet it remains interesting and sometimes fascinating. The performances are all over the place, sometimes great (Micheal Murphy especially) and sometimes alomst cartoonish...this could be a result of the writing...Trudeau is a cartoonist after all. Being taped on video gives it an odd look as well. Still i watched the whole thing in one sitting and wanted more...so it gets 4 stars. (the interview with Altman and Trudeau is a nice plus) November 26, 2004

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