Robert Pattinson stars as Chris Hansen, host of the pervasive and controversial “Dateline” show “To Catch A Predator” | Credit: IMDb pro

Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime” blurs the line between reality and fiction, often at Chris Hansen’s expense

By Max Jasper

Similar to the real Chris Hansen, I left my screening of Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime” shaking my head in confusion.

You see, to prepare for seeing “Primetime,” I watched a lot of “To Catch a Predator,” “Hansen vs. Predator” and “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” and pretty quickly, I was able to pick up on the type of person Chris Hansen is.

He’s a journalist who uses his television program to expose predators attempting to sexually exploit minors. I don’t believe Hansen gets any real joy from telling the predators in his sting operations to “have a seat” and then asking them what they were planning on doing with the decoy. Yet that is the direction writer/director Lance Oppenheim took Hansen’s character.

Instead of portraying Hansen in a realistic way, Oppenheim has actor Robert Pattinson portray Hansen as a manic, entertainment-hungry television figure who feeds off the joy of what he does, acting selfishly and, at times, downright cruel to others.

Having watched a lot of Chris Hansen, I feel as if I can say with certainty his character is the polar opposite of how he is portrayed in “Primetime.” In fact, the opening of the movie depicts Hansen rehearsing the lines he plans to say to the predator who has just arrived at the sting in a way that a difficult method actor would, rather than the well-put-together journalist the actual Chris Hansen is. From that opening scene alone, it was clear to me that the movie I’d be watching for the next hour and 48 minutes would be pure fiction, with aspects of reality from Hansen’s sting operations sprinkled here and there (my personal favorite being the “How ya doing, Stanley?” line delivered by Skylar Gisondo).

After accepting the fact that I’d be watching a mostly fictitious movie about Chris Hansen, I had an extremely difficult time getting behind the story.

The story is engaging, without a doubt, with an excellent soundtrack, cinematography and editing accompanying it. However, what the story conveyed to me, as a viewer, was how selfish people in the entertainment industry are and how far they will go to capture engaging content for high ratings, with little care for how the people in front of the camera are feeling. I find the story of “Primetime” to be especially ironic because they, in their own way, treated Hansen the same way they depicted him treating others.

In all honesty, if “Primetime” took away Hansen’s name and likeness, then my guess is that the big names wouldn’t be attached. Chris Hansen is a known public figure, continuing to tell stories and expose predators. Not because he’s an actor or because he enjoys it, but because, as a journalist, Hansen has an obligation to the truth, and he knows that.

In addition to Hansen, there are other characters in “Primetime” that are based on real people, with the obvious being Hansen’s family.

His ex-wife, Mary Jo Hansen, is played with quiet resentment by Anna Faris, and his two young children, Connor and Chase, are played by brothers Franco and Luca Brocato, who are used in the movie only to depict Hansen essentially neglecting them, even if he has some conflicting feelings about leaving them. Unfortunately, with how all over the place the film’s story is, Hansen’s relationship with his wife and children is left unresolved by the end of the film.

Before diving into the other characters based on real people, I feel it is important to mention one of the film’s subplots: Hansen’s affair. I was under the impression that Hansen’s affair was 100% fictitious, but apparently it is not. However, the way it was depicted in “Primetime,” as one could probably guess, was fictional. The National Enquirer did indeed expose Chris Hansen for having an affair; however, it was 2011, not 2006, when the affair became public.

Another aspect of complete fiction is the character of Andie Bender, played with a desire for success by Merritt Weaver. She is based on “To Catch a Predator” producer Lynn Keller, who Hansen claims did not act at all like how she was depicted in the film.

A character based on a real person (with the only significant change being the last name) is Skylar Gisondo’s character, Dan Plumb, who is based on Dan Schrack, one of the most iconic decoys in the history of “To Catch a Predator,” or any Chris Hansen sting operation in general. Shrack was best known for, according to the “To Catch a Predator” wiki, “confidence” and “the ability to arouse” predators. The way Plumb is written is that of a hungry actor trying to make it big, which I cannot confirm was Schrack’s intention at the time of filming “To Catch a Predator.” What I can confirm is that Schrack became an award-winning journalist in the years following “To Catch a Predator,” which makes me believe that his experience on the show may have inspired him to pursue a different career path.

Despite Schrack’s story being fictitious as well, I cannot deny the fact that Plumb is the film’s most interesting character, as not only is he the audience surrogate, he is the only character in the film with a complete emotional journey from start to finish that is actually fulfilling. “Primetime” ends with Plumb receiving his Screen Actors Guild card in the mail, completing the goal he had at the beginning of the film of becoming a professional actor. The final scene of Plumb opening the card and reading it with his name is perhaps the film’s most important scene, as Plumb isn’t jumping for joy reading his name on the card, but rather reflecting on everything he had to experience for him to finally become a member of SAG, reinforcing the film’s themes about the dark side of media sensationalism and the long-lasting impact it can leave on an individual.

The last character based on a real person that I feel is worth mentioning is assistant district attorney Bill Conradt, played with careful precision and a hint of softness by Alex Winter. The character is based on a former Texas assistant district attorney with the same name, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head as the Murphy Police Department raided his home. Conradt’s suicide is the film’s climax and without a doubt the film’s most intense scene, thanks to a heartbreaking full-circle moment for Plumb as he sings “Seasons of Love” from the musical “Rent” to Conradt over the phone, which we first see him do during his audition.

Despite the story being a fictionalized version of reality, as a movie itself, I didn’t find “Primetime” to be the most engaging movie ever. Sure, it has terrific performances all around, stellar cinematography, impeccable costume design and an amazing soundtrack. However, its use of Chris Hansen’s likeness boggles me, as it certainly feels to me that “Primetime” was made with the intent of becoming a box office success, hopefully shining a light on the work Hansen does and, much like Hansen’s show, deterring potential future predators from targeting children.

With that being said, I would rate Lance Oppenheim’s “Primetime” three stars out of five. Perhaps if I had done less research on Hansen ahead of time, I would have enjoyed the film’s story more.

“Primetime” is now showing at AMC Rosedale 14. Rated R. Runtime 1h 50m.