Movie Review: “Primetime”
In “Primetime,” Robert Pattinson plays Chris Hansen, host of “To Catch a Predator,” an offshoot of NBC’s “Dateline” news program in the mid-2000’s. Hansen and the show’s production team would coordinate with police to lure child predators (via Internet chatrooms where there would be no ambiguity as to their intent) to locations where they would be ambushed, first by Hansen and his cameras, then by the police. While removing child predators from society was undeniably good work, doing so in the form of a television program was morally dubious, as there was an exploitative element to broadcasting the lowest moments of the predators’ lives in the name of entertainment. Then again, if anyone deserves that kind of humiliation, it’s child predators. The debate over the righteousness of the show swirls to this day, and there’s no real “right” answer, but “Primetime” doesn’t want the viewer coming away thinking that Hansen and his team were saints.
To be clear, this isn’t the kind of movie that tries to make it seem like Hansen and his team were the real villains on “To Catch a Predator,” it never goes that far. The marks on that show were the lowest scum of the earth and there is absolutely no confusion about that in the movie. But it does play up the “selfishness” aspect of benefitting from their downfall in the form of tangible television success and intangible feelings of moral superiority.
At the beginning of the film, the show is already enjoying success in a late-night timeslot. Hansen has show’s formula down (yes, he asks the mark to have a seat) and he’s famous enough to get recognized on airplanes. But NBC executive Jeff Zucker (playing himself) wants he and his producer Andie (Merritt Wever) to take the show to an earlier – primetime – slot. However, they’ll have to make the show more exciting with more sensational creative choices and taking down more interesting targets. The latter isn’t exactly the sort of thing they can engineer, though they are on the trail of a guy going to a high-profile state funeral in Texas. They pass up the opportunity to catch many predators in New Jersey to focus on this one “whale.”
Everybody’s life is a mess. Hansen’s relationship with his wife (Anna Faris) is crumbling and he’s about to be exposed for an affair. Andie is way over-budget and feeling unappreciated. New “decoy” actor Dan (Skyler Gosondo) is in way over his head both performing and living with his role in the operation. The movie seemingly learns in real time that Decoy Dan is a more interesting character than Pattinson’s compelling-but-imitative Hansen, and shoehorns him into scenes where he doesn’t belong in the third act.
The only way for these people to feel better about themselves personally and professionally is to catch predators and hit them with the full force of their insecurities. There are worse targets for such bullying, but is it healthy or right that they’re doing this kind of bullying at all? Considering the work that’s getting done as a result of this bullying, probably yes, but maybe a less enthusiastic yes than it would seem at first.
“Primetime” certainly wants the viewers to see the ratings-chasing Hansen and Andi as “sleazy,” though reports of them coming off as outright villains have been exaggerated. The same can be said of reports of this subtly being a “horror” movie, which can be blamed on the way the film’s trailer was edited. Surely some of the film’s subject matter is horrific in a non-cinematic way, but Chris Hansen is no slasher, not even figuratively. The only thing getting chopped to pieces here is the film itself, in that there are some nonsensical editing choices that make timeframes murky and rob the film of urgency. If this film fits comfortably into the fringes of your schedule, fine, but don’t waste your primetime hours making time for it.
Grade: C
“Primetime” is rated R for disturbing sexual material, graphic nudity, some violent content, and language. Its running time is 110 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at [email protected].
