I know it sounds corny but MATES, written by female scribe Claudia Salter, pulls out all the punches in letting you know this candidate, Magnum himself, is a man of dignity and pride. A man our country so desperately needs in our cynical, money grabbing world that is our society today. It's the Clinton aftermath and Pryce and his loyal campaign manager Lauren, (Laura Linney) who has wanted to be president herself ever since she was a child, is leading Pryce into a smooth victory using all the manipulating tasks and strategies that are most assuredly common place in today's elections. Including having Pryce's daughter run up to him while he is on camera for a `planned spontaneous emotional moment.'
This infuriates Mrs. Pryce (Nancy Travis) who tells the overzealous Lauren, `You are never to use my daughter again. She will not be a tool in your campaign agenda!' Meow! But something suggests these women have more in common than the concern of Governor Pryce. Lauren is also an ex-girlfriend of his, and so are his social secretary (Teri Hatcher) and one of his political chums (Faye Dunaway), who desperately wants Prcye to choose her husband (Robert Culp) as his VP. Apparently before Pryce devoted all his love to Mrs. Pryce he passed his love around generously.
RUNNING MATES, a TNT Original film, is good TV but without much controversy. Sure there is an established 'bad guy' (Bruce McGill) who would do anything to nab the job of vice president, it's quite clear he doesn't have a chance in hell of being president so why not the next best thing. But overall the film is consistently too nice. In one out of place scene Lauren has a dispute with Pryce and storms off to her hotel room and then, `knock-knock', she is suddenly surrounded by all his exes and his current wife. They all console her and then compare sex stories with Pryce, including his wife!? This comes out of no where when just minutes earlier the women didn't care for each other in the least. It seems to have been added only to fit the bill of having all these ladies (Travis, Dunaway, Hatcher, Linney) in a room together talking smut.
And just when you thought Pryce might turn out to be a sellout something remarkable happens right out of left field. No explanation is given as to why and a much needed previous scene to suggest his mind frame is non-existent. Instead we are left to read his mind and think, `He did it because it was the right thing to do, right?' But, then again, that's never stopped a politician before? So who knows!
