Director/editor/cameraman/narrator Srikant Chellappa's quirky, quietly outraged and bemused Running Against Dick is a scattershot, charmingly ragged documentary that explores life on the fringes of American politics, while casting a jaundiced eye upon the Democratic and Republican parties. By dissecting the 2002 Congressional elections in Missouri, Chellappa (who introduces himself as an immigrant, returning to this "crazy Americans" approach a few times during his film) follows Dan Byington, Mike Steger and Mike Bram, three men who felt strongly enough to take on Richard Gephardt, a longtime Democratic Congressman.

During the rather brief run time of Running Against Dick, Chellappa succeeds more at sketching portraits of fiercely individual politicos who, rather than lash out at the system via editorials or rambling at family gatherings, take it upon themselves to unseat Gephardt in the 2002 Congressional elections - the filmmaker also wants to include nothing less than a faint damnation of the American political process; billing the film as "an immigrant's perspective ... why third parties have not and will not gain a foothold" paints Running Against Dick as far more serious than it actually is.

A keen sense of satire and ironic juxtaposition fuels some of the more amusing (whether intentional or not) moments in the film; Byington's barbeque early in the film is a highlight, as is some of the more eccentric musings of some of the other opponents. Chellappa certainly doesn't approach Michael Moore levels of witticism (hell, his objectivity goes out the window the minute his girlfriend signs up as Byington's treasurer) but as political documentaries go, it's a pleasant diversion.

For all its playful jabs at American politics and revealing exploration of the often-neglected third parties, Running Against Dick does raise some salient points about the state of electoral politics in the 21st century. While Chellappa doesn't really answer any of the questions he raises, perhaps the director's aim is more to generate discussion. More than anything, viewers should gain some appreciation for the tireless effort it requires to make a dent in the two-party system.

The Video:

Shot on video and presented in 1.33:1 fullscreen, Running Against Dick is rife with grain, lack of sharpness, blown-out images – you name it and the visual presentation here likely has it. This isn't to say that the film is totally unwatchable, but it's far from squeaky clean. A serviceable image.

As befits this low-budget documentary, Running Against Dick is presented with an adequate Dolby 2.0 stereo soundtrack – the guerrilla filming doesn't lend itself to always intelligible dialogue, but there's not too many instances of distortion or drop-out.

A slight sampling of special features is included on the disc – "U.S. Election Facts," a text-based feature detailing precisely what its title says; filmmaker biographies and a post-filming interview with Chellappa and Byington.

Running Against Dick is a playfully biting satire about the plight of third party candidates; director Srikant Chellappa raises some salient points but doesn't quite follow through and offer any answers. Fans of politically minded documentaries might enjoy giving this a spin. Rent it.