AMERICAN PRESIDENT, THE(1995)
Michael Douglas, as the President of the United States, plays
as a recent widower who finds out just how difficult keeping
a secret can be! When he meets up with Annette Benning, a
lobbyist, sparks fly in more than one way! This is a wonderful
movie with great actors and a belivable story! Well worth watching
more than once! A
From a reviewer at Amazon.com:
What sounds like the high-concept romantic comedy pitch from
hell--widower president falls for smart lobbyist while the world
watches--is actually intelligent, charming, touching, and quite
funny. Granted, it's wish fulfillment all the way (when was the
last time you saw a president who was truly presidential?), but
in the capable hands of writer Aaron Sorkin (TV's Sports Night)
and director Rob Reiner, The American President is incredibly
enjoyable entertainment with quite a few ideas about both
romance and the government. Michael Douglas stars as the
president, who after three years in office starts thinking about
the possibility of dating. When he auspiciously encounters
cutthroat environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette
Bening), sparks begin to crackle and the two begin a tentative
but heartfelt romance. Of course, his job gets in the way--their
first kiss is interrupted by a Libyan bombing--but darn it if these
two kids aren't going to try and make it work! However, they
hadn't counted on the president's Republican antagonist
(Richard Dreyfuss), who starts carping about family values.
The predictable plot--Douglas finally goes to bat for his lady
and his country--is leavened by Sorkin's wonderful, snappy
dialogue and a light touch from the usually subtle-as-a-sledgehammer
Reiner. Both manage to create a believable White House-office
atmosphere (with a crack staff including Martin Sheen, Michael
J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, and Samantha Mathis) as well as
a plausible and funny dating scenario. The true success of the
movie, though, rides squarely on Douglas and Bening; this is
unequivocally Douglas's best comedic performance (ergo his
best performance, period) and Bening, usually such a good
bad girl, takes a standard career-woman role and fleshes it
out magnificently. You can see in an instant why Douglas
would fall for her. One of the best unsung romantic comedies
of the '90s. --Mark Englehart