Those of you who remember The Joker is Wild or other similar quiz shows in the 1950s and 1960s on television will be transported back in time during the film Quiz Show. Those of you who are a little younger will think Quiz Show is a very fascinating and creative film. But to my fellow young'uns, let me tell you this: it's a true story.
This piece of social commentary that's sometimes hard to watch but has fantastic acting, well framed shots, and great scene transitions is directed by none other than Robert Redford, the master of all elements mentioned. Quiz Show really is an important movie even though it's the poster-child for the "people are mean" mentality. It was nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor at the Oscars, but John Turturro's and Ralph Fiennes's performances went unrecognized. But, it was released in 1994, the same year as Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption, so it didn't really stand a chance during awards season.
In the film, Christopher McDonald is the host of the incredibly popular television quiz show "21". David Paymer and Hank Azaria are the show's producers. Martin Scorsese is an executive to the show's product sponsor. Everyone has a stake in the ratings, so when successful contestant John Turturro wanes in audience popularity, the network asks him to "take a dive". Will he do it? Will he tell the truth that the show is being rigged—and, more importantly, will anyone listen?
While I kept asking myself, "Why wasn't this Timothy Hutton?" every time Rob Morrow was on the screen, the other leads gave excellent performances, most of them more likable in this movie than in any of their other movies I'd seen. I was kept on the edge of my seat the entire time, and each time a new character's plight was introduced, my heart completely transferred its sympathy to him, a testament to Paul Attanasio's fast-paced and well-defined script. Every character was made to be both likable and unlikable; this is the type of movie that will make you talk about it afterwards.
