Parents' Guide to

Run This Town

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Drama based on politician's scandal; cursing, drugs.

Movie R 2020 99 minutes
Run This Town Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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What's the Story?

RUN THIS TOWN is based on the scandal-ridden 2010-2014 term of Toronto mayor Rob Ford (played by Damian Lewis in a fat suit), with fictionalized behind-the-scenes efforts of an ambitious young aide named Kamal (Mena Massoud) to bury the mayor's misdeeds on one side and the flailings of an incompetent young reporter named Bram (Ben Platt) trying to expose them on the other. Bram is the inexperienced low man at a local paper, but has no skills to move up to full news reporter. Kamal is so competent that he is, to a degree, running the city while the blustery mayor goes on drunken sprees and smokes crack cocaine with kids who video him in the act. Like the real Ford, despite reports in the press and investigations by police, this mayor refuses to leave office when his actions are revealed.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This movie is delivered in unnecessarily jumpy chronology, with split screens and 360-degree camera turns that add nothing to the narrative or visual excitement. These decisions made by Run This Town's first-time writer-director Ricky Tollman don't in any way clarify or set a useful tone in this story about government corruption. And the journalism world he creates bears no likeness to actual journalism or the decision-making processes that go on in newsrooms. We're introduced to graduating senior Bram, played by Platt, as he delivers a powerful, sneering, glib put-down to someone explaining that he's missed the registration deadline for receiving his degree at his college's commencement. He dresses down the bureaucrat bitingly, with clever, quick-witted repartee. But that verbal agility, nerve, and boldness never make another appearance. Through the rest of the action he's self pitying and self absorbed, and utterly hopeless as an investigative reporter.

Massoud as Kamal is an undeveloped character whose only identifying features are his condescension and cynical willingness to completely give up his moral obligations. Lewis' portrayal of the mayor may be spot on, but his words seem to be emanating from behind a rubber Halloween mask. The makeup job makes him look something other than human.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how powerful employers are able to get away with terrible behavior. Two employees say they're afraid they'll lose their jobs if they criticize their boss' inappropriate actions. Can you empathize with people who refuse to come forward because they're afraid to lose their jobs? Why or why not?

  • Do you think it's okay for a politician to behave badly as long as they do their jobs well? Why or why not?

  • How do you feel about an actor wearing a fat suit to portray a character in Run This Town?

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