bad match movie review

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Bad Match [Review]

If you’re on the market for a significant other, a big fear is a terribly awkward first date. Long pauses of silence filled with the mashing of food between your teeth as you try to make eye contact with the waiter to hurriedly bring the check is far from the movie-esque experience we’re all wanting. Thanks to the internet and apps like Tinder, finding yourself in one of these awkward dates is easier than ever. However, BAD MATCH takes your dating fears and turns it up to an irrational 11.

At the core of BAD MATCH , you have a stereotypical Douchey Dude Bro Harris (Jack Cutmore-Scott) one-night-standing a few ladies before swiping right on a stereotypical clingy Riley (Lili Simmons). There’s some techno-foolery happening behind the scenes, essentially ruining Harris’ career and life, but by the end, Riley has broken free of her mold while Harris has only fallen deeper into douchebaggery. It also exemplifies the violence women can face at the hands of deranged, irrational man.

BAD MATCH takes your dating fears and turns them up to an irrational 11.

Originally, the trailer left me with tepid expectations, but there were more than a few twists in the story that kept me pleasantly surprised right up until the end. The story plays with your gendered, Hollywood-molded expectations, but then flips those expectations on their head in the last 20 minutes of the movie.

BAD MATCH isn’t a drop-dead gorgeous movie, but it’s not one that’s poorly shot either. There are a few unique shots that writer/director David Chirchirillo uses on more than one occasion—such as the 360-degree panning shot, which is used more than once in quick succession. There’s one continuity error that is nearly impossible to miss, though, having to do with Harris’ bandaged right hand. You won’t miss it.

Cutmore-Scott and Simmons both shine in their respective roles. Which is to say Cutmore-Scott plays a douche really well while Simmons plays the clingy and slightly stalker-like woman in a budding relationship with expert precision. Both Cutmore-Scott and Simmons are supported by a great cast of secondary characters.

… more than a few twists in the story that kept me pleasantly surprised.

There’s one thing I would have liked more of from BAD MATCH —hacking. This was a major part of the trailer, but it only played a minimal role in the overall story. This isn’t a bad thing, at all, because the story clearly made up for it in other ways. However, it would have still been interesting to see what damage could be done to one’s life when you lose control of your online persona and information.

BAD MATCH is a thin veil of today’s modern dating scene. Apps like Tinder (Called Head Over Heels in the movie) and a Facebook-like social network are present in the film. It shows the shallowness that online dating can be. On the surface, BAD MATCH is about a man whose life is ruined after an awful date, but in reality, it’s about the violent dangers women face in today’s dating world—and that is what’s most surprisingly and enjoyable about the movie.

BAD MATCH takes your stereotypical male-female courtship, adds a bit of personal paranoia, and then delivers an unexpected ending after a string of despicable acts.

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Film Review: ‘Bad Match’

A toxic master of the digital hookup gets his comeuppance in a tawdry but watchable low-budget 'Fatal Attraction' for the age of Tinder.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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It’s a sign of how little most movies channel contemporary experience that the manners and habits and attitudes of the age of Tinder have remained a relatively off-screen topic. This past January, the Sundance drama “Newness,” directed by Drake Doremus (it has yet to be released), was a designer soap opera that had a few telling observations to make about what it feels like to live your life in a digital meat market. As a movie, though, it didn’t quite take hold. The new pulp thriller “ Bad Match ” is darker, grimier, and more entertaining. Written and directed by David Chirchirillo, who co-wrote the scurrilous violent hipster comedy “Cheap Thrills” (2013), the movie is “Fatal Attraction” for the age of the revolving-door hook-up, and in its fevered low-budget way it’s just clever enough to do what it sets out to do. It gives toxic masculinity its just desserts.

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Jack Cutmore-Scott, who suggests a randier version of the young Greg Kinnear, plays Harris, a sleazy-smart young L.A. dickwad. He works for an advertising agency, and when he’s not soaking up his time with murder-fantasy video games he’s usually on a hook-up app, where he’ll swipe on 50 women’s photos a day, playing the percentages. He generally winds up in bed with one of them a few hours after they’ve met. Then he sneaks away, never to be seen again, ready to dive back into the shopping mall of sex.

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In movies, the cad who discards women as quickly as he finds them is an old trope (if Michael Caine’s Alfie had Tinder, he would have been this dude). But what gives “Bad Match” its twinge of originality is the way that Harris uses technology to seal himself inside an impenetrable bubble of solipsistic male coolness. Even on a date, where his opening gambit is to predict what drink the girl he just met is going to order, he’s staring at her through an imaginary computer screen.

Then he meets Riley (Lili Simmons), a willowy and confident 21-year-old student who seems just as avid in her gullibility as the others, until she fastens onto Harris and won’t let go. She keeps texting, calling, imploring. Is she stalking him? Or is the stalking in the eye of the beholder with the cold shoulder?

Thirty years on, “Fatal Attraction” still looms as a mythical thriller of feminine power. Yes, the Glenn Close character was “crazy,” but she stood in for all the women who ever thought, in the years after the sexual revolution, “I am not just going to be discarded!”

In “Bad Match,” Lili Simmons plays Riley in the same vein, as a spurned object of desire who will lie, manipulate, and shoot over the edge of acceptable behavior, but only to shove her humanity in Harris’ face. She fakes a suicide attempt (a loathsome thing to do — but Harris’ indifferent response is even worse), and by the time she begins to mess with his Twitter account, we’re in a brave new world of payback. Jack Cutmore-Scott, in a strong performance, makes Harris a supremely confident dude coming apart at the seams. When the police knock at his door, and we know in our bones what they’re looking for, the film turns into a cautionary pulp pressure cooker: Live by the digital gaze, die by the digital gaze.

There’s a moment where Riley has snuck into Harris’ apartment and is making a surprise dinner for him, and when Harris discovers her, she’s holding a kitchen knife. Shades of “Fatal Attraction” — but more than that, shades of every cheap thriller that ever introduced a psychological situation only to turn it into something action-y and boring. “Bad Match” often feels like it could become that kind of “ride,” but it never does. It’s something a shade or two more interesting: a scuzzy bro nightmare.

Reviewed on-line, November 3, 2017. MPAA Rating: Not rated. Running time: 83 MIN.

• Production: An Orion Pictures, Gravitas Ventures release of a BoulderLight Pictures, MM2 Entertainment release. Producers: J.D. Lifshitz, Raphael Margules. Executive producer: Jo Henriquez. Director, screenplay: David Chirchirillo. Camera (color, widescreen): Ed Wu. Editor: Michael Block.
• With: Jack Cutmore-Scott, Lili Simmons, Brandon Scott, Chase Williamson, Christine Donlon, Noureen DeWulf, Kahyun Kim.

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Review: ‘Bad Match’ unleashes a fatal attraction for the Tinder set

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“Fatal Attraction” provides the obvious inspiration for writer-director David Chirchirillo’s revenge thriller “Bad Match,” which updates the classic ’80s anti-romance for the Tinder age. Like its predecessor, at its best “Bad Match” takes the common misunderstandings and diverging expectations of dating and sex and turns them into all-too-relatable nightmares.

Jack Cutmore-Scott plays Harris, a commitment-phobic tech-bro who uses his favorite hook-up app to bed a different woman almost every night — always assuming his partners are just as interested in “keeping it casual.” Lili Simmons plays Riley, a knockout who obsessively texts Harris after their one-night-stand, certain she’s too sexy for him to reject.

Chirchirillo smartly refuses to clarify whether Riley’s unhinged or whether she’s just incapable of reading Harris’s cues that he’d rather be left alone. Even after Harris begins to suffer what appears to be an aggressive campaign to ruin his life — prompting him to lash out at Riley — “Bad Match” leaves open the possibility that he’s grossly misreading the situation.

The movie runs out of places to go after an hour and descends into a violent standoff that’s stylishly shot but narratively pat. (To be fair, “Fatal Attraction” had the same problem.)

Still, thanks to good performances by Cutmore-Scott and Simmons — and good writing by Chirchirillo — “Bad Match” effectively explores the everyday horror that comes from people treating their fellow human beings as interchangeable playthings.

-------------

Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle NoHo 7, North Hollywood

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Jack Cutmore-Scott (Harris) Lili Simmons (Riley) Brandon Scott (Chuck) Chase Williamson (Robby) Noureen DeWulf (Terri Webster) Max Haaga (Shadowman) Kahyun Kim (Lydia) Christine Donlon (Rachel) Seth Morris (Ronald) Eric Podnar (Brett)

David Chirchirillo

An internet-dating playboy's life spirals out of control after meeting a woman online.

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Eye For Film >> Movies >> Bad Match (2017) Film Review

Reviewed by: Jennie Kermode

Given that 40 million people now use internet dating in the US alone, it's strange that there have not, to date, been very many films about it. David Chirchirillo's tale illustrates how changes in approach have altered nothing about the fundamental challenges of liaisons between strangers. Both parties can think they're behaving reasonably and things can still go very, very wrong.

Harris (Jack Cutmore-Scott) sees nothing wrong with using internet dating simply as a means of getting laid. He figures that's what most people are there for (though it's not clear if he's actually asked) so no harm done. He's polite, he's friendly, he's ready with an excuse not to spend the night, and he doesn't feel he's setting up any false expectations.

Riley (Lili Simmons) is using internet dating to search for a relationship. She assumes that's what other people - decent people, anyway - use it for. Harris seems like a nice guy, and she can see no reason why he wouldn't want to see her again. Maybe the relationship will work out, maybe it won't, but they can give it a go, right?

Misunderstandings like this happen all the time. they can be stressful, but most of us get over them. The thing is, Riley has problems. She's not emotionally stable; she's needy; she knows it and she tries to manage it, but it is what it is. And if somebody hurts her or simply doesn't seem to care about her feelings, she's not going to take that lying down.

So far, so Fatal Attraction , you might think (even if you haven't noticed that Chirchirillo is using the colour red in the same way as Adrian Lyne), but this is a film that's ultimately going somewhere different - it's closer to what Fatal Attraction was originally supposed to be than what ended up on the screen. It couldn't really have existed before Lyne's film because the social assumptions that crystallised around that are very much a part of what drives the central dynamic, but beyond that it is very much its own animal.

As Harris, Cutmore-Scott is very effective at coming across as an everyman whilst maintaining an edge of darkness that's vital to the film keeping its balance. Simmons gives us a character who is more visibly damaged but still seems, at heart, very ordinary. Crucially, she's ready to acknowledge the sometimes unreasonableness of her actions, whereas it doesn't occur to Harris, comfortably positioned at the centre of his own narrative, that any behaviour of his could overstep the mark. As the tension between them escalates, it becomes apparent that somebody has seriously overstepped the mark, and that an initially awkward situation is headed for tragedy, but Chirchirillo plays on our uncertainties (and cultural prejudices) to keep us guessing.

The film treads a fine balance throughout, making the ending feel too heavy-handed - but then again, perhaps that's necessary in order to ensure that its point isn't lost on those who failed to pay attention to the subtler work. It's still an impressive film and an impressive calling card which one hopes will see Chirchirillo go on to bigger things.

Director: David Chirchirillo

Writer: David Chirchirillo

Starring: Lili Simmons, Noureen DeWulf, Trent Haaga

Runtime: 90 minutes

Country: Singapore, US

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[Review] ‘Bad Match’ Is a Fun Ride Through Social Media Hell

Representing social media culture and online interaction in film is especially hard in this cynical day and age. While there have been a few successful depictions of the so-called “millennial lifestyle” in films like Unfriended and The Den , most attempts just come off as cringe-worthy. Luckily for us, David Chirchirillo’s extremely topical Bad Match is not only a believable take on the dark side of modern dating, but also a surprisingly effective thriller in its own right.

Starring Jack Cutmore-Scott as Harris, Bad Match chronicles a serial dater’s downward spiral as the remarkably clingy Riley, played by Lili Simmons, refuses to leave his life after a one-night stand. Things escalate as hacked social media accounts and anonymous accusations push Harris to the limits of his sanity, with the authorities refusing to believe that a seemingly normal girl could be behind this despicable online plot.

Bad Match may not be a traditional horror movie, but the thought of having your life ruined by just a few simple clicks is downright terrifying in this digital age. Though the film often uses fake social media apps and websites in an effort to avoid any possible legal issues, there’s an honesty behind the storytelling that makes Harris’ unfortunate troubles seem completely believable.

While the setup does sound pretty dire, the film has a lot of fun with the premise, cleverly juxtaposing comedy and tragedy in a unique balancing act. The movie is ultimately an unexpectedly humorous commentary on the impact that the internet can have on our daily lives. Thankfully, the story never gets preachy, with the savvy script acting as a cautionary tale without actively condemning anyone.

You can tell that the filmmakers relate to the subject matter, or have at the very least done their homework, as potentially embarrassing references to millennial culture (such as Tinder or Sonic the Hedgehog fan-art) are subtly woven into the story and don’t detract from the experience.

A flawed yet likable main character also helps sell the illusion, as Cutmore-Scott makes Harris a sympathetic figure throughout his struggles, despite sometimes acting like a jerk. Simmons is also incredibly watchable as Riley, as there’s a constant feeling that there’s more going on with her than meets the eye.

Despite everything it does right, Bad Match still has its fair share of flaws. There are a few scenes that tend to drag, with some disposable side characters and dialogue, and quite a few story-beats seem to be recycled from successful thrillers of the past. I feel that the film could have been a genuine classic if it had it gone the extra mile with its premise instead of relying on well-worn tropes. Either way, it’s still a fun ride, even if the end result is a little tame.

However, potential viewers may be divided by the ending, which could be interpreted as either exceptionally clever or a contrived mess depending on who’s watching. Personally, I think the final moments complemented the rest of the film, though I understand why some viewers wouldn’t be completely satisfied.

In the end, Bad Match is an entertaining thriller that manages to comment on pertinent social issues without coming off as self-righteous or feeling out of touch. It may not be the most original flick out there, but it’s certainly worth a watch, and will definitely leave you feeling suspicious of online dating for quite some time.

Bad Match will be available in limited theaters and on VOD platforms November 3rd!

Born Brazilian, raised Canadian, Luiz is a writer and Film student that spends most of his time watching movies and subsequently complaining about them.

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‘bad match’: film review.

Swipe-swipe-swipe leads to slice-and-dice in 'Bad Match,' David Chirchirillo's nightmare of modern dating.

By THR Staff

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David Chirchirillo , co-writer of 2014’s vicious black comedy Cheap Thrills , turns his attention to online dating in Bad Match , the tale of a hookup gone very, very wrong. Blending contemporary concern about the dehumanizing effect of app-enabled sex with much older tropes, it isn’t quite the crazy-spurned-woman exploitation flick it seems to be. Though it’s no Fatal Attraction , the modest thriller should play well with younger viewers in its limited run.

Jack Cutmore-Scott plays Harris, a broadly drawn cad who sees nothing dickish about his habit of bedding as many women as possible and never contacting them again. When more settled-down friends like Chuck (Brandon Scott) inquire about his love-’em/leave-’em ways, he just says the women don’t give him that girlfriend feeling.

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Release date: Nov 03, 2017

That’s certainly the case with Riley ( Lili Simmons), a flaky-seeming 21-year-old. But when Harris tries to pull his usual post-coital disappearing act, Riley isn’t having it: She tries to nail down his vague “call you later” promises, asking what he’s doing the next night. Not tomorrow? How about this weekend?

The next day, Riley proves to be as stock a character as Harris is. She texts incessantly, and he ignores her until she sends a sexy selfie. (Had he already forgotten what she looks like?) He lets her come over, at which point she finds ways to insinuate herself into his life.

The action of the next few days escalates effectively, provided that one buys the shallow psychological profiles we’re being offered. (The actors certainly seem to.) But any moviegoer really interested in the effect an infinite buffet of swipeable sex has on human interactions should look elsewhere. Zachary Wigon’s The Heart Machine , released the same year as Cheap Thrills , did just that, dramatizing the new kinds of distance techno-intimacy makes possible. But here, the only critique of the Tinder mindset comes from a woman the film is busy characterizing as off her rocker.

That may be beside the point, as Bad Match clearly only aspires to be a thriller with a surprise or two up its sleeve. On that front, it’s adequate (despite offering none of the sex appeal its grindhouse-y premise suggests). As Harris’ life is increasingly wrecked by the exposure of both things he has and hasn’t done, some twists aren’t that hard to guess. But one pleasant one is that Riley isn’t entirely the needy lightweight she initially seems.

Production companies: BolderLight Pictures, MM2 Entertainment Distributors: Orion Pictures, Gravitas Ventures Cast: Jack Cutmore-Scott , Lili Simmons, Brandon Scott, Chase Williamson, Noureen DeWulf , Kahyun Kim Director-screenwriter: David Chirchirillo Producers: J.D. Lifshitz , Raphael Margules Executive producer: Jo Henriquez Director of photography: Ed Wu Production designer: Kelly Fallon Costume designer: Lydia Graboski-Bauer Editor: Michael Block Casting director: Amey Rene

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Bad Match | A queasily effective Fatal Attraction for the era of swiping right

Dating hell.

A louche LA Casanova gets his comeuppance in the low-budget thriller Bad Match , a Fatal Attraction for the era of swiping right from writer-director David Chirchirillo, screenwriter of 2013’s darkly comic fable Cheap Thrills . Jack Cutmore-Scott’s caddish protagonist, Harris, is a master of online dating and he only goes in for one-night stands.

Yet when his latest hook-up proves more than usually clingy, his efforts to shake her off send his life into a tailspin. Lili Simmons’ flaky stalker Riley may look like an incipient bunny boiler, but is Harris the one who is really unhinged?

Bad Match lacks the ferocious grip of Cheap Thrills but its anxious depiction of modern dating still proves queasily effective.

Certificate 15. Runtime 80 mins. Director David Chirchirillo

Available on DVD & Digital from Precision Pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj5yEnhuUgk

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A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about  The Archers  – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.

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Jennifer lopez’s ‘atlas’ defies bad reviews to debut big on netflix movie chart.

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Jennifer Lopez in "Atlas."

Lousy reviews didn’t stop viewers from streaming Jennifer Lopez’s new Netflix original movie Atlas in its debut over the weekend.

Directed by Brad Peyton ( Rampage , San Andreas ), Atlas is a futuristic tale about Atlas Shepherd (Lopez), a tech analyst who has led a guilt-ridden life after the death of her scientist mother when she was a child. Atlas’ mom invented an AI robot named Harlan (Simi Liu), who becomes self-aware and leads an AI revolt that leaves millions of people dead across the planet.

Escaping to another planet after the carnage, Harlan resurfaces 28 years later with a plan to annihilate Earth once and for all—so Atlas joins the mission to destroy the AI before it's too late.

According to the Netflix Global Top 10 Movies chart , Atlas had 28.2 million views from May 20-26, which equates to 56.3 million viewing hours in its first three days of release—enough for the film to top the streaming platform’s global list. Atlas was also No. 1 on the U.S. Top 10 Movies chart and finished in the Top 10 in 93 countries that have Netflix overall.

The strong debut of Atlas should take away the sting of the blistering reviews by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who to date have collectively given the film a 17% “rotten” rating based on 71 reviews. Netflix viewers remained neutral in their collective assessment of the film, bestowing a 51% Audience Score based on 500-plus verified user ratings.

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Atlas also stars Sterling K. Brown, Mark Strong and Lana Parilla.

Atlas replaces the Netflix original rom-com Mother of the Bride as the top title on the Netflix global movies chart, a ranking the film held onto for two consecutive weeks. Starring Brooke Shields and Benjamin Bratt, the Netflix original movie dropped to No. 4 on this week’s global chart with 9.3 million views, which translates to 14 million viewing hours.

Animated Family Movie Moves Up The Netflix Global Chart

Finishing at No. 2 on the Netflix Global Top 10 Movies chart is the animated musical comedy Thelma the Unicorn (10.7 million views/17.4 million viewing hours) after debuting at No. 4 last week.

The 2009 animated comedy Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs came in at No. 3 (9.5 million views/15.1 viewing hours) in its global chart debut, while the 2007 Shia LaBeouf crime thriller Disturbia finished at No 5. behind Mother of the Bride.

Disturbia had 8.1 million views, which equates to 14.1 million viewing hours.

Unlike previous weeks in May when Netflix released such high-profile films as Unfrosted , Mother of the Bride and Atlas , there are no big movie productions on this week’s list of films debuting on the streaming service.

Next week, however, will see another big release with the action crime comedy Hit Man , starring Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone but You star Glen Powell opposite Andor star Adria Arjona.

Hit Man is directed by Powell’s Everybody Wants Some!! director Richard Linklater, which is co-written by Powell and Linklater.

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Campaign mailers like a bad 'Mad Max' movie

I’m beginning this week’s column with some movie trivia and an analogy between big-screen villains and a shadowy right-wing California millionaire trying to seize control of local elections.

I’ll end with an appeal to Nevadans’ better judgement to see through the dirty politics of a ruthless individual trying to foist his beyond-the-pale views on the Washoe County voting public.

The first “Mad Max” film with Mel Gibson in 1979 was a low-budget B-movie where the hero sets out to rectify the injustice done by a group of biker-gang villains who murdered his wife and daughter. The movies have become a saga of sorts with the ensuing films' villains becoming increasingly scarier and far more cunning.

In the third film, “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” a malefactor appears with a striking resemblance (not physically, but character-wise) to a real-life culprit who is trying to control Washoe County politics.

The villain in the flick is actually two persons — the first is a dwarflike figure who is the brains of the pair, “Master.” His partner in mayhem is a gullible giant of a warrior who is the muscle of the duo, called “Blaster.” The subservient giant unwittingly carries out the ambitions of Master to control Bordertown. The film’s hero, Mel Gibson, discovers a high-pitched sound will disorient Blaster and uses a bosun’s whistle to defeat his gigantic foe in the Thunderdome. Order is restored, at least for the time being, in this fictional setting with a clear resemblance to today’s current political climate.

Enough of the movie review; here’s my analogy: There is a new figure in local politics who, like Master Blaster, is asking the same question: “Who runs Bordertown?” Or in this case, “Who runs Washoe County?”

For the record, his name is Robert Beadles. This former Californian “master” of political attacks ads versus county commission and school board candidates is responsible for a series of reprehensible campaign materials like the ones you may have received in the mail portraying Gov. Lombardo-appointed county commissioner Clara Andriola as a clown; the president of the Washoe County School Board, who just survived cancer procedures, as “Death,” rather than “Beth" Smith; and Reno City Councilman Devon Reese as a drag queen in a fake Photoshopped image.

On the flip side of the flyers mailed by his PAC, the Franklin Project, blasting candidates he opposes, Washoe County’s wanna-be “master” portrays candidates he supports in a positive campaign-style mailer. Whether they knew or not (most of the candidates he supports claim not to have known beforehand of Beadles’ attack ads), they have become like the vulnerable giant in the Thunderdome arena — the unwitting tool of an ambitious figure — that may just result in their political demise.

Is Reno’s new “master blaster" just a well-intentioned American patriot, as he would have his supporters believe? I’ll let him answer that question for himself, although he chose not to get back to me with any comments for this column.

The aforementioned master says about his efforts and those who support him: “We are Christians, God-loving parents, grandparents, neighbors, business owners, employees, and concerned Americans who have had enough.” Born and raised in California, Beadles moved to Nevada in 2020. His debut on the state’s political scene came in October 2021, when he threatened members of the Washoe County school board during a public meeting saying; “God has blessed me, and I have a s--- ton of money, and I’m going to do everything I f------ can … to remove you (from office).”

I’ll let believers decide just how “Christian” his political attacks ads are, but there are a number of critics who think his antics are more about ambition than altruism. Jason Guinasso, a local pastor, attorney and former candidate for public office, says, “His efforts are not anchored in principle or any coherent set of values. Rather, his efforts are focused on reprehensible personal attacks against those who oppose him in an effort to instill fear, anger and mistrust into targeted groups of people for the sake of creating ‘energy’ so people will ‘turn out’ to the ballot box and vote.”

A veteran Republican campaign manager says such negative efforts likely won’t bode well for candidates Reno’s master blaster is supporting, “What Beadles is doing is engaging in a classic foot-shooting contest. His Don-Quixote-like chasing of conspiratorial causes is nothing more than a vanity play.”

It’s a play more and more American voters are growing weary of. The Pew Research Center’s survey done a little more than a year before the presidential election found “nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics, while 55% feel angry. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics, and even fewer (4%) are excited.”

Sticks and stones may hurt people, but words do too, especially to candidates if they are found to be untrue. Reno public relations legend Don Vetter agrees. Speaking in the Reno News & Review, “(Beadles’) political currency is misinformation and false narratives … He comes into this community and offers no solutions, no positives.”

Longtime community advocate Alex Bybee agrees.

“Exploiting the anxieties of those who fear people that exercise their freedoms differently than the majority is dangerous. It divides and degrades the very Republic and values he claims to respect.”

Personally, I’m sympathetic to well-intentioned first-time candidates like Brian Cassidy and Christopher Tabarez, who are the “beneficiaries” of Beadles’ attack ads against their opponents. Both candidates say they had “nothing to do” with his mailers. Unfortunately in politics, when you sleep with unsavory bedfellows with snake-like qualities — you might just wake up with near-fatal puncture wounds. Like Mad Max’s whistle blown in a bully’s ear — the results can be devastating.

Political money contributions (especially unknown ones from unsavory political action committees) have become the “mother’s milk” of politics, as California Speaker of the Assembly Jesse Unruh famously uttered. Sadly, dangerous substances sometimes are known to pass through a mother’s milk. Candidates who have received tainted “milk” from characters like Reno’s new master blaster may wish they hadn’t.

There is a lesson here — if we choose to see it. Most voters want someone to vote for, and not against. County commissioners, school board members and a host of other local officials tend to perform best when they are placed in office by untainted local support.

We have a way to go to cultivate the kind of civic virtue in which we view each other as friends and countrymen with political differences instead of as opposing armies occupying some polarized wasteland.

It didn’t work for Bordertown, but it could work for Washoe County.

Go ahead and blast away: [email protected].