“I’ve known Bob Rumson for years. And I’ve been operating
under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to
shouting at the rain was that he simply didn’t get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob’s
problem isn’t that he doesn’t get it. Bob’s problem is that he can’t sell it.
We have serious problems, and we need serious people to solve them. And
whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least
bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things, and two things
only- making you afraid of it, and telling you who’s to blame for it.” ~ Andrew
Shepherd
“Mr. President, I’m sure there’s an appropriate thing to say
at this moment. Probably some formal apology for the nice ass remark would be
in order. I just don’t quite know how to word it.” ~ Sydney Ellen Wade
“With all due respect, sir, the American people have a funny
way of deciding on their own what is and what is not their business.” ~ A.J.
MacInnerney
“Bob Rumson is the only one doing the talking. People want
leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they’ll
listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They’re
so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when
they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.” ~ Lewis Rothschild
The American President
is a 1995 romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Aaron
Sorkin. It tells the story of a widowed President trying to get a crime control
act passed and manage the political minefield that is Washington, while getting
involved with a lobbyist. The film has an outstanding cast, and an idealistic
tone throughout. Its protagonists are sympathetic, while its antagonists, led
by a senator who reminds me of Dick Cheney, are suitably Machiavellian. This is
the sort of film that Frank Capra would have gotten into.
The film opens with President Andrew Shepherd (Michael
Douglas) and his White House advisors preparing for re-election. His chief of
staff and best friend A.J. MacInnerney (Martin Sheen) hopes that a crime
control bill can be enough to ensure re-election. The president, a widower
since the death of his wife three years earlier, is raising his daughter Lucy
alone, and has a bit of a predicament: a state dinner is coming up, and his
cousin, who was going to attend with him, has fallen ill.
Shepherd happens to meet Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening)
at a White House meeting. She’s a lobbyist for the environment, very outspoken,
and the two find themselves intrigued by the other. He invites her to join him
for the state dinner- and from there, sparks begin to fly of both a romantic
and political nature as the unlikely relationship ends up becoming fodder for
Republicans looking to unseat the President in the coming election.
The film’s origins started with another actor: Robert
Redford mused on the notion of a presidential romantic comedy of sorts, and
Sorkin was brought in to write the screenplay. While Redford withdrew from the
project, Sorkin was perfect to write the story. He first came to prominence
with the play that was adapted to movie status, A Few Good Men, and after this film he developed the television
series The West Wing. Sorkin’s
writing throughout shows a strong idealism in a profession- politics- that should
be cynical. The cynicism tends to be confined to Republican politicians, so we
see where his political beliefs lie. Sorkin’s writing in general is smart and
highly character driven, and we see that here, from the leading characters to
the supporting characters. The idealism of Sorkin’s script shows itself most
strongly in the President’s speech late in the film- his authoritative message
is something that could easily be applied to certain wannabe politicians these
days.
Rob Reiner was a good choice as director. He had already
done a mixture of film genres as a director before this one, including one of
my personal favourites, The Princess
Bride, and the aforementioned A Few
Good Men. While he has a gift for comedy, he certainly knows his way around
drama, and that shows itself here, as well as the way he brings out the best in
actors. Reiner keeps the film paced smoothly-
there’s never a sense of the film slowing down. He brought together the
right crew for the project- their work really pays off in the look of the set,
for instance; the White House set built for the production looks like the real
place, with a lot of attention to detail. The sense of idealism in the story is
reflected as well by Marc Shaiman’s music score; the composer got an Oscar
nomination for the music, fused with optimism and romantic themes.
The cast were brilliantly chosen- some of them went on to
have roles in The West Wing, as one
might have expected. Richard Dreyfuss is the only real antagonist of the story,
playing the ambitious Republican senator Bob Rumson. His performance is that of
a devious opportunist, seeking his own play at power, pulling strings and
orchestrating those around him. Rumson is a weasel of a character, and ends up
reminding me of a less evil Dick Cheney, utterly without principle or
conscience. It’s easy to dislike the character- and one wonders if Dreyfuss was
enjoying himself playing someone so totally unlike him.
Nina Siemaszko has a turn in the film as Sydney's sister Beth, supportive in her way, and the way she and Bening work together on screen conveys that sisterhood strongly. David Paymer is one of those character actors who has a
wealth of roles to his credit, and an everyman, hangdog sort of look, which
works well for him. He plays Leon Kodak, the Deputy Chief of Staff, giving the
character a deadpan but smart sensibility. Samantha Mathis plays Jane Basdin, a
personal aide to the President, coming across as organized and calm under
pressure. Anna Deveare Smith, another character actor who you’ve seen in many
roles, plays the press secretary Robin McCall with a slightly sarcastic feel. I
particularly like her interaction with Michael J. Fox’s character.
Speaking of whom, Fox plays the senior advisor Lewis Rothschild
with conviction. The character is principled and smart, and comes across as
perpetually worried. He doesn’t back down from speaking his mind and argues for
his position- in some ways the character is the most idealistic of the story,
and Fox plays to that throughout the film. Even if he doesn’t remotely look like the name
Lewis Rothschild suits him.
Martin Sheen is ideally cast as the Chief of Staff. The
actor would later play President Bartlett on The West Wing, and his take as A.J. seems to be a prelude to that
role. A.J. is calm under pressure, wise and authoritative. I like that the
character’s ever mindful of protocol- his best friend’s the president and yet
he calls him Mr. President. Yet the way Sheen interacts with Douglas throughout
comes across as a believable, decades long friendship.
Annette Bening made for a good choice as Sydney. The
character’s outspoken (perhaps too much), intelligent, principled, and
dedicated to her work. As capable she is in doing what she does for a living,
she’s not above getting flabbergasted or flustered in a socially awkward
moment. The actress, whose career work has tended to lean more towards drama,
turns out to have a good comedic touch, and Bening has good chemistry with
Douglas throughout the film.
Michael Douglas brings the sense of authority and gravity
one would expect in a fictional President throughout the film. Andrew Shepherd
is a man balancing principle and pragmatism- running a country means trying to
work with people you don’t particularly get along with, and making difficult
decisions, and Douglas brings that across in his performance. He also gives the
character a dry sense of humour as well as poignancy, and the character proves
to be likable as we get to know him.
Rob Reiner had a big hit with The American President. Well received by audiences and critics
alike, the film certainly wears its idealism and political stance on its sleeve.
It boasts a terrific cast, is funny and smart, and offers a refreshing
alternative to the general nonsense that is the current election campaign.
