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Date Posted: 00:53:18 06/19/01 Tue
Author: IMDB's Jim Griffin
Subject: Hi there, Jimfans! The IMDB's Jim Griffin has returned to give you all a special sneak preview of his latest review before he goes on his promotional tour of Asia, signing copies of his autobiography...

The American President (1995) ***

There are two love stories in this film. The first is between Michael Douglas and Annette Benning; the second is between Aaron Sorkin and the Presidency.

The seeds of The West Wing were planted here, but with them came its faults. What irritates me about the show irritates me about the film; its misplaced and insincere cynicism. It tries to be too cool for school in its depiction of politicians; they care more about their careers than the truth, they are self-serving and manipulative, they are cynical and driven by appearance not policy, and they have no interest in right and wrong, only Right and Left. But this cynicism stops at the doors of the Oval Office, and is replaced by misty-eyed patriotism.

Michael Douglas’s President is somehow separated from the other politicians and their sniping, presumably reaching the White House through simple honesty and integrity. Like that’s ever happened. The weeping violins and Rob Reiner’s sweeping camera combine to tell us that this man is one of the greats. What it really tells us is that the cynicism in the movie is only kids’ stuff.

There is scene after scene about how the President is just another guy, and Douglas must have taken all of ten minutes to learn his lines as most of them are variations on “Call me Andy.” But, again, Sorkin clearly doesn’t believe his own writing. This isn’t Andy, this is the President of the United States! Hail to the chief...

As in The West Wing, there is a clear formula to the dialogue. How to sound like a White House aide: walk fast down a corridor, weaving in and out of the open plan offices, speaking without taking breath, while quoting statistics and percentages, with some half-assed cynical attitude. That gets stale by the end of the first reel.

Released in 1995, it could have been made as a birthday present for Bill Clinton. The President has a girlfriend and doesn’t want to make any public statements about their relationship, which is a convenient set-up for the message that a President’s personal life doesn’t matter as long as he’s a good leader. So men like Kennedy and Clinton screwed around on their wives, and even doddery old Eisenhower was rumoured to be getting some, but what difference does that make? Sure, they lied to their wives and children, but let’s not take that as any indication of their morality.

The love story between Douglas and Benning is mostly interesting, and the cast is mostly impressive. If you can see beyond the preaching, the movie passes the time well enough. Personally, I couldn’t, so it didn’t.

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