THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1995 Michael John Legeros
(Columbia)
Directed by Rob Reiner
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Cast Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael
J. Fox, Richard Dreyfuss
Running Time 123 minutes
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh (11NOV95)
==
A widowed Chief Executive starts dating again. That's the deceptively straight-forward set-up of this crowd-pleasing romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner (WHEN HARRY MET SALLY). The new girlfriend is Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), an environmental lobbyist who finds herself flustered, and later charmed by Democratic President Andrew Sheperd (Michael Douglas). Together, they fumble through the implications of White House dating, which includes an upcoming election year and a series of ugly character attacks from Senate Minority Leader Robert Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss).
As written by Aaron Sorkin, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT is less about politics than about two people falling in love under extraordinary circumstances. The story does, however, provide a fascinating, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the daily activities of the Chief Executive. He's a very busy man, to say the least, and Sorkin has characterized the "Clintonesque" President as a bit disconnected from his personal life. (His pampered lifestyle and constant dashing away to a crisis reminds of a better-written Bruce Wayne. I wonder how he would look in a rubber suit?)
The political issues are the least successful.(**) A couple of plot points are downright confusing, the character of Bob Rumson is never fully developed, and the big, Frank Capra finale falls a bit flat. No problem. Reiner knows exactly what his assets are, and so he places the greater weight on romance and comedy. And what comedy! Sorkin has written some great lines, here. A wicked reference to the Carolinas is a howl. As is the President's "none of your damn business" phone call. The closing line, though, which I won't reveal here, is by far the best. (All good movies should end with such great lines.)
Sure, the story could be longer, with more substance to balance the weaker political segments, but with both Douglas and Bening virtually *glowing* in their roles, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT delivers the kind of old-fashioned, cornball romance that makes stepping into these movies so very much fun. Perfect chemistry between the leads, as well as a crack supporting cast that includes Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox, more than compensates for any deficit spending in the political arena. Watch out at Oscar time.
Grade: A-
**- As are the morality issues. The script makes quite a fuss about "character" and "family values" and, yet, these two lovebirds jump so quickly into the sack that you have wonder exactly *where* Hollywood's logic center is residing, these days. Sigh. I guess even the most old-fashioned of films can't be entirely old-fashioned.
-- Michael J. Legeros - Raleigh, NC legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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