As Rip Torn is getting a blow job in his senatorial office, an aide looks down and sees a woman's legs under the desk. The senator from La. tells the aide to leave, and we see the bewildered look on his face as he leaves. Small wonder, though, as this movie which shows the salacious side of life in D.C. goes on to reveal wild parties. This same senator is seen bragging on his mile-high exploits and the party climaxes in the grand piano being shoved out the window and traveling down the driveway, flowers on top intact.

Barbara Harris does a great job as the senator's wife. The role of the reluctant teen-ager is not fully developed, and her absence at the great nomination event of the Democratic party is not explained. When you contrast this movie with the carefully orchestrated phoniness of the Republican National Convention, you see easily how our 'free and open' society has degenerated. There were no riot cops with batons and stun guns suppressing the dissidents at this convention.

Alda is still too much of a nice guy in this movie, although he does sexual lust really well, ripping off Streep's clothes. Streep does a nice job, showing her frustration and sadness at her neglectful treatment by her own financially successful husband. The work of the senate aide is also demonstrated as clearly including the handing out of hotel room keys with no questions asked.

Reminding me of Dukakis' wife Kitty and Ford's wife, Betty, you see what the strain of being a Congressman's wife can be. Great points were made about the explicit price paid for having seen a therapist, having shock therapy or the like.

This movie isn't as good as 'The Best Man', Gore Vidal's wonderfully written movie, but who can write that well in this day and time. See the movie for it's strangely prophetic scenes. And then see Alan Alda, as the CORRUPT senator opposite Howard Hughes in 'the Aviator' just in time for the Oscars. Great contrast.

Awfully familiar stuff about persons who take pride in the career over their family and power corrupting, the film is however quite well acted, which brings it above par of its type. Alan Alda and Meryl Streep are both excellent, and although Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in the same year as this film for 'Being There', he deserves it more here. The acting bridges on being melodramatic from the rest of the cast, but it is hard not to call this a well acted film with those three great performances. There is also some insight into American politics, but the film does assume a bit more than just a basic understanding already, and therefore there is a chance that viewers not familiar with American politics will wind up confused. The music choices are rather poor, and there is one very silly sequence put to square dancing music. Overall though, this is a reasonable film. It does have its flaws, but it has excellent acting to compensate. It might not show anything new or explain everything well, but it is certainly adequate entertainment for its running time.

Strong drama of morals and ambition. Alda has written himself a showcase part and does very well in the lead providing a strong center to the picture and he's aided by two superior actresses, one, Meryl Streep, on the way up and the other Barbara Harris always under-appreciated. Meryl is vulnerable and appealing but Barbara Harris is the treasure, giving the film's best performance and providing the heart that would be missing with her contribution. An incredibly skillful actress who was too unique for Hollywood to utilize properly she speaks volumes without saying a word through subtle facial expression. Also notable is Melvyn Douglas giving another of the marvelous supporting performances that were a staple of the twilight of his career.