{"id":15065,"date":"2026-09-25T14:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=15065"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:38:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:38:15","slug":"primetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/09\/25\/primetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Primetime"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Primetime<\/strong> (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A24\/Drama-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 110 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (disturbing sexual material, graphic nudity, some violent content, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Lance Oppenheim\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Ajon Singh\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Ari Balouzian\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: David Bolen \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Release date: September 25, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Weaver, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, Anna Faris, Jonathan Lipnicki, Tony Revolori, Alex Winter, Eric Rahill, Sean Bridgers, Jerry Zucker, Creed Bratton, Caroline Hebert, Jessica Hecht.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0I\u2019m frustrated, the cause being my mixed feelings about Primetime<\/strong>, an interesting but flawed film about the drama behind the reality show To Catch a Predator. It has an intriguing story to tell; the problem is in the presentation. It\u2019s too arty for its own good. It too often gets overwhelmed by the director\u2019s stylistic choices. It mars what could have been a truly great film.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In all fairness, Primetime<\/strong> is a first effort for documentary filmmaker Lance Oppenheim (Ren Faire). It\u2019s his first stab at making a movie with a narrative. The result is decidedly mixed. It has several good points, but the overall effect is lessened by Oppenheim\u2019s heavy-handed approach. His self-consciousness as an artist testing unfamiliar waters is evident throughout be it the grainy cinematography, chaotic editing or overbearing score that tends to drown out the dialogue. However, it\u2019s not really a case of style over substance as Primetime<\/strong> has plenty of the latter. It just gets pushed to the side by the former.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Robert Pattinson (The Odyssey) plays To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen, a journalist riding high on his success after his Dateline segment is given a time slot on prime time TV. NBC execs are so confident that they schedule it opposite Lost. In it, Hansen confronts sexual predators on camera after luring them to a sting house with the promise of sex with a minor. It proved popular with the public. Who doesn\u2019t want to see a pedophile publicly exposed and taken down by law enforcement? That, of course, is a rhetorical question.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The on-screen drama is rivaled by everything that\u2019s going on behind the scenes. For one thing, Hansen\u2019s motives aren\u2019t entirely altruistic. A lot of times, he\u2019s more interested in ratings than justice. He\u2019s constantly in search of \u201cthe big fish\u201d, a high-profile target that will send ratings through the roof. It\u2019s an obsession that leads to tragedy when the target, a Texas ADA, takes his own life after the police show up at his home accompanied by Hansen and his crew.<\/p>\n

\u00a0They say behind every great man is a great woman. Although I wouldn\u2019t use the word great here, there is a woman behind Hansen and it\u2019s not his wife (Faris, Scary Movie) or even his mistress (Hebert, I Saw the Light). It\u2019s his producer Andie Bender (Wever, Christy), a ruthless type who prioritizes ratings above all else. She\u2019s always pushing Hansen and everybody else to do whatever it takes to make a great show, right or wrong be damned. Loyalty is definitely not one of her virtues. She attempts to secure a deal at rival network ABC when it seems the show might be in trouble.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The other character Oppenheim focuses on is Dan Plumb (Gisondo, Superman), a young actor hired to pose as a 13YO boy during the sting operations. He\u2019d rather do musical theater, but first he needs to get his foot in the door. He takes the job solely to get his SAG card. When he arrives on set the first day, he can\u2019t believe what he\u2019s gotten himself into. Andie literally throws him to the wolves with barely any prep time. His reaction is a mix of horror, disgust and shame. He\u2019s not sure if this gig is for him. After false reassurances from Hansen, Dan throws himself into his role because he thinks what he\u2019s doing is right. So he\u2019s doing it, at least in part, for the right reason. But it is worth the price of his soul?<\/p>\n

\u00a0One of the most disappointing things about Primetime<\/strong> is how superficial it is when it comes to bigger issues. It barely scratches the surface when dealing with the ethical implications of the show. Aren\u2019t the targets being deprived of their civil rights? It could be argued that how they go about snaring pedophiles amounts to entrapment. It\u2019s mentioned a few times, but never explored with the depth it deserves. Then you have the whole subplot about a tabloid threatening to publish photos showing Hansen with his mistress. Writer Ajon Singh doesn\u2019t really go anywhere with it. It\u2019s little more than part of all the background noise weighing down on Hansen.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Now we come to the part that has me in a tailspin. A24 is notorious for the pretentiousness of many of its movies. Sadly, Primetime<\/strong> falls under that heading, artistically speaking. I get that Oppenheim is going for a specific look and feel. It\u2019s shot with high-def digital cameras and presented in a boxy 4:3 aspect ratio. He\u2019s mimicking the look of the old cathode-ray tube TV monitors and surveillance footage from the mid-2000s. It\u2019s an interesting idea, but it comes off as too obvious. It takes away from rather than adds to the overall effect. The bombastic score by Ari Balouzian doesn\u2019t help matters any. I don\u2019t need musical cues to tell me when something is supposed to be intense.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I so wanted Primetime <\/strong>to be, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s a shame because it has some really good performances starting with Pattinson. He portrays Chris Hansen as a morally dubious man convinced he\u2019s some kind of hero of the people. He\u2019s not and the movie never attempts to depict him as such. Pattinson keeps himself in that dark shade of gray area throughout. Gisondo steals the show as the young, fresh-faced actor looking into the dark abyss of corruption. Will he escape from it unsullied? Wever does outstanding work as the steel-hearted producer only thinking of the show and her job. Humanity never factors into any of her choices.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Primetime<\/strong> has a fine supporting cast that also includes Matthew Maher (The Bride!) as Xavier, the guy who communicates with targets on-line while posing as a 13YO. Xavier is the real-life found of the on-line vigilante group Perverted-Justice. This guy deserves his own movie. Indie folk singer Phoebe Bridgers plays Del, the actress who can pass for both a boy and a girl of 13. She\u2019s good, but I wish Del had been developed more. Bokeem Woodbine (Dead Presidents) has a few good scenes as a Texas police chief who takes part in the ill-fated bust. And yes, that\u2019s Jonathan Lipnicki, the kid from Jerry Maguire and Stuart Little, as the pervert with the whipped cream.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In the end, Primetime<\/strong> is a pretty good movie that should have been much better. Its good points only serve to underline the missed potential. It\u2019s, like I said, frustrating.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Primetime (2026)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A24\/Drama-Thriller\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 110 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (disturbing sexual material, graphic nudity, some violent content, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Lance Oppenheim\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Ajon Singh\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Ari Balouzian\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: David Bolen \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Release date: September 25, 2026 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Robert Pattinson, Merritt Weaver, Skyler Gisondo, Phoebe Bridgers, Matthew Maher, Bokeem Woodbine, Anna Faris, Jonathan Lipnicki, Tony Revolori, Alex […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-now-playing"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Primetime-POSTER.jpg?fit=620%2C827&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15070,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15065\/revisions\/15070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}