Tanner on Tanner

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment, but extras are a treat
Review: I'll give anything with Cynthia Nixon a fair shake, so we tried to stomach our way through this four-episode compilation. It's most unfortunate to report back that it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to make it to the finish line.

The original "Tanner '88" was groundbreaking, and it's a thrill to go back and see a young Ms. Nixon as the faux-presidential aspirant's daughter. And, in general, I'm a fan of Robert Altman's unique filmaking style, especially when it it comes together brilliantly in works like 'The Player' and 'Gosford Park.' Unfortunately, Mr. Altman lays a stinkeroo from time to time, like the dreadfully bad 'Dr. T and the Women.' 'Tanner on Tanner' is closer to that end of the Altman scale. There's rather stilted polemic-y dialogue (monologue?) from the likes of Mario Cuomo, thrown together with a muddled mix that washes out otherwise neat appearances by the likes of Steve Buscemi and Marty Scorcese.

Why three stars? Well, the extras on the DVD are fascinating. Good interviews with Altman and Gary Trudeau. There's a cool piece called 'The Two Alexs,' which talks about the scene where the fictional Alex Tanner (Nixon) meets the real Alexandra Kerry (also a documentary filmmaker), and they both film an interview with Ron Reagan, Jr. (who's also filming). So, as Altman and Trudeau explain, Reagan and Kerry are there with their film crews, Nixon with her fake crew, and the whole thing is being filmed by Altman himself. Moreover, Tanner on Tanner features a student filmmaker filming Nixon's attempt to make her film. As Altman and Trudeau note, the effect of Tanner on Tanner is to poke as much fun at the seriousness and angst of the documentary filmmaker as at the political process.

Most fascinating is a piece called 'Sex and the DNC' that talks about Nixon and Michael Murphy (Jack Tanner) walking the floor of the Democratic National Convention in character. People recognize Nixon from 'Sex and the City' and call out to her "I love you!" She brilliantly turns that around by deflecting it to her screen Dad and has him plunge into the crowd. Altman adds to that, noting that "no politician is going to answer 'no' when you say to them 'you remember X'" ('Jack Tanner' here). Sure enough, they show a great scene of a befuddled Joe Lieberman, obviously desparately trying to recollect candidate Tanner's face, pumping Murphy's hand saying "of course I remember." I could watch two hours of this kind of stuff. Too bad we only get 15 - 20 minutes of the extras and two hours of the show itself.