Movie · 1972 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 50m · PG · English
Curator score: 5.5/10 (31.7K ratings)
Bill McKay has a lot going for him...but nothing compared to what's coming.
Overview
Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.5/10
IMDb: 7.0/10
Letterboxd: 3.61/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 66
TMDB: 6.5/10
Director
Michael Ritchie
Production
Redford-Ritchie Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter, Allen Garfield, Karen Carlson, Quinn K. Redeker, Morgan Upton, Michael Lerner, Kenneth Tobey, Christopher Pray, Joe Miksak, Jenny Sullivan, Tom Dahlgren, Gerald Hiken, Leslie Allen, Jason Goodrow, Robert De Anda, Robert Goldsby, Mike Barnicle
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, dry political satire that feels unnervingly modern in how it shows campaign messaging, image management, and the emptiness that can follow electoral success. It’s less joke-heavy than its comedy label suggests, but the naturalism and the ending give it real bite.
Best for
viewers interested in political satire and campaign mechanics
fans of 1970s American realism
people who like restrained, cynical comedies with a serious edge
Robert Redford admirers
Skip if
you want broad laughs or fast-paced satire
you prefer overtly emotional character arcs
you’re looking for a hopeful or inspirational politics movie
Overview
Michael Ritchie’s film is one of the great American election movies because it understands politics as performance long before that became a cliché. Bill McKay enters the race as a low-stakes idealist, then slowly discovers that every answer, gesture, and pause can be packaged into a product. The movie’s humor is so dry it can almost disappear into the machinery it’s observing, which makes it feel even more exacting.
Worth noting
Robert Redford is ideal casting: polished enough to be sold, self-aware enough to notice the sell, and believable as someone who keeps adjusting himself to the room. Peter Boyle gives the campaign its nervous intelligence, turning strategy into a kind of moral erosion. The film is especially strong when it shows how authenticity gets absorbed by media logic without anyone ever announcing that’s what’s happening.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the ending, which lands like a quiet punch. Rather than offering catharsis, it leaves you with the sense that winning may be the most effective way to lose your voice. That’s why the film still plays as more than period satire: it’s a clean, unsettling diagnosis of modern politics.
Top Letterboxd reviews
eely (3.5★) · 774 likes
i’m the girl who wanted robert redford to sign her tits
Scott Tobias (4.5★) · 660 likes
One of the most astute films ever made about American politics. One incredible thing about it: It's considered a comedy-- a satire, even-- and there's hardly any jokes. You get that great bit with Redford mimicking watered-down messaging ("This country cannot house its homeless, feed its foodless"), but the drrrrrry humor is rooted in political reality, like Redford's dad, the former governor of the state, not even *acknowledging* his son's campaign until the polls start to tighten. And I think the "What now" ending is up there with The Graduate.
carrieandtracy · 411 likes
Our politics, compared to 1972: exactly the same and entirely different.
Michael Ritchie’s run — Downhill Racer, Prime Cut, The Candidate, Smile, The Bad News Bears — is the best 5-in-a-row run of any American film director. That’s right, you heard me, I said it, and I’ll fight for it.
Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 (4★) · 279 likes
I still regard this as the finest campaign trail movie, only Primary Colors comes close to this naturalistic gem, which is just as relevant today as it was back in 1972.
Shrewdly directed by Michael Ritchie and benefitting from a totally believable turn by Robert Redford as the idealistic lawyer convinced to run for Senate by the equally authentic Peter Boyle's campaign manager and spin doctor supreme.
The film's closing shot is a wonderful metaphor concerning the irony of how, once you've reached a position of power, your voice can barely be heard.
sofi✨ (3.5★) · 274 likes
tag yourself i’m the woman who says she voted for robert redford because he’s handsome
1999 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 43m · R · Curator 7.8/10 (309.8K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus, Philo
Shares the same interest in ambition, manipulation, and the absurdity of electoral behavior.
1939 · Comedy, Drama · 2h 10m · NR · Curator 8.7/10 (201.1K ratings)
An idealist-in-politics story that makes an interesting contrast with this film’s skepticism.
Topics
political satire, campaign trail, dry humor, media manipulation, 1970s cinema, American politics, naturalistic drama, cynical tone, power dynamics, electoral campaign