This trite tale of politics and media manipulation marked a real low point in the career of Richard Gere.

He's an amoral image-maker whose services packaging politicians for a TV orientated society guarantees success.

But things go wrong when, despite smelling a sizeable rat, he agrees to hype up an unknown candidate for a seat vacated by an old friend of Gere's for unexplained reasons.

Gere is quite good in a part nobody could do too much with and Gene Hackman is in for a bit-and-a-half as his alcoholic ex-boss, now a down-at-heel rival.