Review: My Fellow Americans (1996)
a movie review by Chris Webb
Cast: Jack Lemmon (Russell P. Kramer), James Garner (Matt Douglas), Dan Aykroyd (William Haney), John Heard (Ted Matthews), Wilford Brimley (Joe Hollis), Everett McGill (Col. Paul Tanner), Lauren Bacall (Margaret Kramer). Directed by Peter Segal.
In what was termed Grumpy Old Presidents eons before it ever came out, My Fellow Americans does not outdo the Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau comedies. It does not fade in their presences either. Lemmon is now teamed with James Garner, and the vulgarisms and infantile behavior still abound. Garner, though, replaces Matthau's carmudgeon with vigor. In fact, Lemmon takes the Matthau role as the seemingly older fellow.
Kramer and Douglas are ex-presidents, but current rivals, who are trying to hold onto past glories. The United States must be in pretty bad shape as Kramer beat Douglas only to lose to him four years later, who subsequently is replaced by William Haney (Dan Aykroyd), who was Kramer's former vice president. We are taken to the third year of Haney's term, when he is alerted of a past scandal that could land him in hot water. Haney's obvious choice is to place the blame on Kramer, who being the honorable and reputable Republican and conservative would never have been involved in such crimes. Meanwhile, at a reception, both Kramer and Douglas learn of the wrongdoings.
Hoping to land himself back in office, Douglas takes the challenge of finding if the blame can land on Kramer. Douglas, a verile and newly-divorced man, is the liberal Democrat. This is a nice touch, since Garner looks and sounds like Bob Dole, while Lemmon is an older Bill Clinton, and this came out during the Presidential race of 1996.
In their efforts to find out the truth, Kramer and Douglas wind up being marooned and need to trek across a few states together, though reluctantly. This is where the high-jinks begin, and the zingers fly at a mile-a-minute. And believe it or not, its simply histerical. My Fellow Americans does not break any new ground, but it rests comfortably in its predecessors shoes: the Grumpy Old Men series with the witticism of the Naked Gun series.
Lauren Bacall and Wilford Brimley put in small, but entertaining parts. John Heard plays a dumber-than-Dan Quayle vice-president, who does have some smarts it turns out. All in all, this is a highly entertaining and charming comedy that will make a good rental.
My grade: B+
----------------------------- | Chris Webb '99 | | | | cjwebb@unix.amherst.edu | -----------------------------
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