(Well, I guess a quiet dinner at Denny‘s is out of the question…)
CAST: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Anna Deavere Smith, Samantha Mathis, Richard Dreyfus, John Mahoney.
DIRECTOR: Rob Reiner
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and rather stark lessons in dating someone whom even folks in rural Madagascar recognize by name.
In our recent review of THE PRINCE AND ME (review # 297), we explored the unlikely romance between a sexy, footloose Danish prince (Luke Mably) who goes undercover as just another foreign exchange student at the University of Wisconsin, and the formidable, intense pre-med student (Julia Stiles) who steals his heart and matures him. THE PRINCE AND ME is a prime example of a sub-genre of the Romantic Comedy Genre which I like to call the “Fuck Yeah! Flick“. Meaning some lucky average Joe or Jane totally lucks out and wins the heart of a very famous and powerful person. In other words, Fuck Yeah!
In our latest review, the ultimate Fuck Yeah! Flick titled THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, a sleek lobbyist’s world gets turned upside down when she catches the eye (and hard-on) of a certain dude that lives in a big, um, white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. Not just any dude, though. The one who can also order the bombing of a Middle Eastern nation as easily as scratching his nose, and travels around with a lot of grumpy-looking guys and gals in suits and earpieces. If you still can’t figure out who it is, do this: stare at the title of this review until it hits you. If that doesn’t work, then God help you and whatever children you end up having. Maybe I recommend some serious birth control?
At any rate, for those of you with an IQ higher than room temperature, I am indeed referring to the, ahem, American President. He is Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), and he’s the perfect guy: smart, funny, sincere, available, and capable of getting the best table at any restaurant no matter how booked it may be. And when I wrote that Andrew is available, it’s because he’s a widower. See, the First Lady croaked right after he assumed office. Now, he’s a single father with a teenage daughter named Lucy (Shawna Waldron) who is so adorable and wholesome you can’t help but pray she falls in with a biker gang when she goes off to college and turns into a Harley Ho. Let’s see the Secret Service try to control her then.
In case you’re wondering who our “Fuck Yeah!” character is, she would be Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening). Sydney is a lobbyist for the environment whose group is trying to get the White House to pass a Greenhouse Gas Emissions bill. It’s Sydney’s single-minded fervor in trying to achieve this goal that leads her to one of the more colossally awkward first meetings in Romantic Comedy History. Essentially, she calls the Leader of the Free World a delusional idiot whose address is somewhere between Donald Duck’s and Mickey Mouse’s at Disneyland. The only problem is Andrew The Prez is standing right behind her the whole time. Ooopsie.
Like I said… awkward. Now, you’d think this would signal the death nell for any potential relationship between Andy and Sydney. Fortunately, Andrew is no different from men the world over: the more shit a woman flips him, the more he wants to fuck her. Just because the guy sits in the Oval Office doesn’t necessarily make him smarter than his hormones. I think we can look back to certain events in the late 90’s to attest to that. Two words: blue dress. Seven more words: next time, get out of the way.
Needless to say, before you know it Andrew’s doing the following things: (1) calling Sidney at her sister’s flat where she’s crashing until her own flat is ready; (2) sending her - and I swear I am not making this shit up - a whole Virginia Ham instead of flowers; and (3) generally behaving like John Cusack in SAY ANYTHING, only somehow more dorky. If you thought Paige from THE PRINCE AND ME had problems ahead of her for dating Prince Eddie, imagine what Sydney’s about to face. The only way she could top herself is if she started dating God.
To make matters more complicated (and you knew that was coming, hello), a crusty Senator named Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfus) launches a character assassination campaign on both Sydney and Andrew for political gain during an election year. Rumson basically calls her a ho and calls him her, I guess, high-powered pimp. Before long, the press is singing the same tune and Sidney finds herself being placed in the same general category that Snooki from JERSEY SHORE is now in. Not the most flattering category, if you ask me. Soon enough, Andrew’s approval ratings begin to drop faster than a face running on Botox fumes. To say that Andrew’s Chief of Staff (Martin Sheen) is a tad pissed off would be stating the obvious just a fucking wee bit.
Will Andrew and Sydney’s romance survive politics? Or will Sydney have to walk away from the man she loves? Or will it be Andrew who has to make this terrible choice? Why do they even have to choose anyway? Will Rumson ever let up? Or will Andrew man up and defend himself and his ho, er, lady. And the most important question of all: is The American President a great lay?
Sydney? We’re waiting, dear… and don’t give us that “a lady never tells” bullshit.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In the intro, I wrote about a sub-genre of the Romantic Comedy Genre that deals with members of royalty or the uber-elite falling for commoners. Examples include THE PRINCE AND ME, NOTTING HILL, ROMAN HOLIDAY, and - to lesser extents - CHASING LIBERTY and FIRST DAUGHTER. The best of them, though, is the Rob Reiner/Aaron Sorkin gem called THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT.
The central conceit of these films (an ordinary person and extraordinary person meet and fall in love) is timeless and magical. So strong is this premise that even potentially average fare like CHASING LIBERTY gets elevated somewhat to become something engaging. Imagine this set-up at the center of a strongly-constructed and sharply-written film, and you may be dealing with a classic. Which is essentially what THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT is.
The appeal of these films, especially this one, lies in the struggle to have a romance between members of vastly different leagues survive the obstacles and elements placed by society and culture in their way. THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT is presented in a way that is relatively believable, and this allows us to buy into the relationship between President Shepherd and Sydney Wade. Their romance is this movie’s motor, and no matter what happens around it (like political wrangling and scheming), the story remains anchored in a very human place.
Michael Douglas and Annette Bening are ideally cast in their roles. Douglas successfully suppresses the smarmy side that he so often uses in many of his anti-hero or villain roles, and plays up his natural likability to turn President Andrew Shepherd into a very affable personality. Douglas, however, retains just enough mischief and playfulness to keep the character from turning into an idealized bore, and it’s this serious/light dichotomy that meshes well with Bening’s role. Sydney is just as amiable and assertive as Andrew, and Bening plays up just enough of her strength without turning her too hard, and emphasizes just enough of her vulnerability without turning her too soft. Both Douglas and Bening take ownership of their roles to the extent that you can’t see anyone else playing them. That’s when you know a performer has done a terrific job.
The supporting cast is filled with such recognizable and talented faces as Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, Richard Dreyfus, and Samantha Mathis. These folks take the roles that writer Aaron Sorkin gave them and turn them into vivid, memorable turns which nicely complement the very strong work of the film’s leads. Dreyfus and Sheen, in particular, are excellent.
Bottom line: this movie belongs to Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, that stellar supporting cast, and the timeless story that they all bring to exciting life.
