MY FELLOW AMERICANS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.0 Alternative Scale: **1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 12/20/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:41 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, double entendres) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd, John Heard, Sela Ward, Wilford Brimley, Everett McGill, Lauren Bacall Director: Peter Segal Producer: Jon Peters Screenplay: E. Jack Kaplan, Richard Chapman, and Peter Tolan Cinematography: Julio Macat Music: William Ross U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
The presence of Jack Lemmon isn't the only reason why MY FELLOW AMERICANS could be dubbed GRUMPY EX-PRESIDENTS. Here, with James Garner filling the Walter Matthau role (while Matthau was busy filming his own alternate take on THE ODD COUPLE, I'M NOT RAPPAPORT), the barbed, pseudo-hostile banter is familiar. Ultimately, this is a buddy movie, and if you can't guess the outcome ten minutes into the film, you're just not familiar enough with the formula.
What makes MY FELLOW AMERICANS watchable -- although there are times when it verges on not being so -- is the humor. The screenplay is lame when it comes to action and drama, but a fair share of the comedy, though it may be bawdy and in poor taste, is actually funny. No matter how tiresome you find the material, MY FELLOW AMERICANS is almost guaranteed to provoke a few, hearty laughs. If only the framing story was better...
It's a simple enough premise. Jack Lemmon plays Republican ex- President Kramer, who was voted out of office seven years ago after serving one term. James Garner is Democrat ex-President Douglas, who succeeded Kramer, but, like him, only survived for four years in the White House. Since their ouster from office, both men have been struggling to find things to do. Kramer writes cookbooks and makes inspirational speeches for private corporations. Douglas tries to pen his memoirs, but has more fun sleeping with his editor.
Dan Aykroyd plays the current Commander-in-Chief, Republican President Haney (Kramer's former Vice President). When a scandal surrounding his administration gets out of control, Kramer and Douglas are unwittingly pulled into it. Suddenly, these two life-long enemies are on the run together, with a crazed hitman (Everett McGill) on their trail. Their goal: locate and go public with information discrediting the current administration before they are eliminated. Their trek takes them from the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina to Cleveland and Washington D.C.
Lemmon and Garner slip comfortably into their roles, not that either is given particularly challenging material to work with. Kramer is a feisty old man with a reputation as a conservative and a skinflint. Douglas, despite his advancing age, still lives up to his old nickname of the "Washington Love Machine." At this advanced stage of his career, Lemmon keeps coming back to THE ODD COUPLE formula, and this is just another example. What drags MY FELLOW AMERICANS down, however, isn't its reliance upon buddy movie conventions, but its failed attempts to inject embarrassingly trite melodrama and recycled action sequences into the story. It's pleasant enough to watch Kramer and Douglas engage in verbal sparring matches (even though the dialogue isn't brilliant, the writers deserve credit for some good one-liners), but that enjoyment evaporates when we're forced to watch them jumping off of trains, galloping around on horseback, or reflecting on how they never made the difference they wanted to.
Since the film stays with Lemmon and Garner for the majority of its running length, no one else has much screen time. In the case of Dan Aykroyd, that's probably a good thing, since his Haney isn't interesting or funny when he is around. John Heard plays a bumbling Vice President who makes Dan Quayle look competent (listen for his pronunciation of the word "facade"). Sela Ward is a reporter seeking the truth behind the latest Washington scandal. In full grandfather mode, Wilford Brimley takes on the part of the head of the Democratic National Party. And Lauren Bacall has a cameo as Kramer's wife.
MY FELLOW AMERICANS contains some political satire, but all of that material is weak and obligatory. From an ideological point-of-view, both Republicans and Democrats take a beating, although neither party is as viciously skewered as it could (and perhaps should) have been. MY FELLOW AMERICANS seems unwilling to take real chances, choosing instead to stick to the kind of gentle lampooning that will generate chuckles without risking offense. There are times when I laughed, but, as a whole, this particular buddy film really isn't worth the price of admission. Besides, if you want to see stupidity and silliness on a presidential scale, all you really have to do is turn on the news.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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