THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1995 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: This is a film that sneaks up on you.
The romance is cute and well written, but it is not
actually the main thrust. The real subject is
politics, mudslinging and deal-making. It is about
a fictional President, but the issues it raises are
relevant and timely. It is an enjoyable film, but
also more than just a light entertainment. Rating:
+2 (-4 to +4)
Just in case you did not notice this film was "Capra-esque," scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin works the term into the dialogue. But even if he had not, there would have been inevitable comparisons to Frank Capra's techniques of pulling the viewer in with one story and then introducing a much more relevant plotline. And this film is in a class with MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and MEET JOHN DOE. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT is a bright, witty romantic comedy with really good dialogue, but at the same time it is a statement about politics, and about politicians, some who are idealists and some who are opportunists. This is a film that purrs and a film that has claws--not big ones, but claws nonetheless.
President Andrew Shepherd (played by Michael Douglas) is an idealist and a Democrat with a high approval rating from the American public. Shepherd is a widower with a teenage daughter. He gets along tolerably well with Republicans and with the environmental lobby, treading a path somewhere in between. When he overhears a new environmental lobbyist, Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), making insulting comments about him he is intrigued by her and invites the flustered woman to be his date for a state dinner. Eventually they are seeing more of each other in spite of warnings from his staff that dating a woman will hurt his approval rating. It soon becomes clear that they are right, as an opponent, Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss) who is adept at political hardball, begins mounting a smear campaign suggesting that Wade is a flag-burner and that she is using sex to sway the President's opinions. The President's interest in Wade is exaggerated into an all-out attack on family values. The President's sagging approval rating forces some hard decisions.
Sorkin's dialogue with Rob Reiner's direction is witty, sharp, and a lot of fun. While the entire course of the President's relationship with Wade is easily predictable, there are some very funny situations built around what would happen if a modern President did decide to date. Reiner's film has the undeniable charm in portraying the President trying to do what seem like simple tasks like ordering flowers and dating. There is a charm in seeing a lobbyist awed and flustered by the attentions of the President. And for a while the film rides on all that charm. But the film does a lot more than that. The film is something of an education in how modern politics works. We see something of the complex deals and strategies which anyone in high political office must contend.
The cast is a bit overpowered with familiar faces in almost every reasonable role. Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, and David Paymer are advisors to the President. I was pleased to see Anna Deavere Smith in an important role as the President's press secretary. Smith proved herself to be a first rank character actor with an incredible acting range in her one-woman show "Fires in the Mirror," filmed for PBS. Other familiar faces include Samantha Mathis, John Mahoney, and Nina Siemaszko. Marc Shaiman's score is dignified and sounds Presidential. The photography looks convincingly like it was filmed in the White House, no doubt due in large part to contributions by Industrial Light and Magic.
Like many of the films of Frank Capra, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT can be seen as a light entertainment and at the same time a somewhat deeper look at the problems in American politics. To balance both as adroitly as it does, I rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
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