Dave
There was a time when I didn't like Kevin Kline. That was mostly because I didn't like the people I saw him portray in movies. Irrational, I know, but I think people tend to do that -- if someone consistantly plays nasty people very well, most people don't like them. Then he went and married the extraordinarily cute Pheobe Cates (who is far younger than him), giving me even more reason do dislike him. Then he and the missus did a bit on Sesame Street, and I thought, maybe he's not such a bad guy after all. And then this......
Kevin plays 2 parts in this movie, Bill Mitchell (the president), and Dave Kovic. Dave is not the president, but an incredible simulation -- oh sorry, that was Beatlemania. Actually Dave runs a temp agency that tries (perhaps) a little too hard to find it's people work, even if it means talking his accountant Murray (Charles Grodin) into hiring someone he doesn't really need. And, since he does bear a striking resemblance to the president, he picks up spare money impersonating him. That brings him to the attention of a Secret Service agent (the eternally cool, Ving Rhames), who has been sent to find a guy to impersonate the president -- for security purposes. Or so the president can screw his secretary, which is the case here. Unfortunately for him, he (the president) suffers a massive stroke. So the chief of staff, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hatches a plan. He's a powerhungry twit, and decides to have Dave continue long enough to get rid of the current vice president (Ben Kingsley) and have himself appointed instead. Then they can get rid of the president, and he can take over. So Dave goes along with it, and all is fine, until he meets the first lady, Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver). She and the president don't get along (seems she has a thing about her husband sleeping around with other women), but when Dave sees her, he's immediately smitten. She, on the other hand, absolutely despises him -- which thrills Bob and Allan Reed (Kevin Dunn), the press secretary. Time goes on, the plot to discredit the vice-president is growing, and Dave gets to do all these fun public appearances -- goofing at a factory, visiting kids with Ah-nuld, throwing out the first pitch of the season, and finally a homeless shelter for kids. This he does with Ellen, who ends up quite suprised by the way her 'husband' seems to care about what happens to these kids. All of which blows up when Bob vetoes a bill that would have provided funding for the homeless -- and the shelter they visited. She storms into his shower to tear his head off. Dave has no clue as to what happend, and calls in Bob and Allan. Bob, who is outraged at having been called in, tells him that is he wants his homeless shelters so bad, he'll have to find 650 million dollars from the budget somewhere. So, Dave calls his accountant Murray in, sends out for some food, and the 2 of them manage to find the money. The next day at the cabinet meeting, Allan has arranged for the media to sit in on the 100th meeting, which is the perfect time for Dave to bring out his plan (who's gonna waffle with the media present). Dave finds the money, everyone cheers, except for Bob. Allan asks him what his problem is, he just did what he was told -- find 650 million dollars from the budget. Bob yells that he's going to get rid of Dave, and Allan says 'then we'll all go to jail'. Bob menacingly asks if that was a threat, and Allan says yes, I guess it is. Then Ellen comes in and asks Dave a trick question that he doesn't answer right. She then asks where Bill is. So Ellen, Dave, and Duane (the cool Secret Service guy) go down to a basement hospital where Bill is being kept alive by machines. Ellen decides it's time to leave, and so does Dave. They sneak out of the White House, get stopped by the cops (where the two of them have a hard time trying to convice the cops that they aren't the president and first lady). Then, they end up going on a date, where they decide to try to do some good. The first action is to fire Bob. Then a press conference where Dave announces a new jobs bill. The public, while thinking that the president has gone a little bit dotty, thinks it's a great idea. Then Bob, who has successfully embarassed the vice president, decides to go after the president too. He calls a press conference to announces his allegations. Dave says it's bad enough to trash the vice president, but he has to drag him is as well. That's when Allan tells him that it's all true. So one more ploy -- Dave calls for a joint session of congress, where he plans to answer to Bob's charges. He stands up, and says -- Yes, it's all true except for 2 things: The vice president had nothing to do with it, and: Bob Alexander did -- here's the written proof. Then as he's pleading for his jobs bill, he has a conveniently timed massive stroke. There's a mad dash to the hospital where the president comes out of the back of the ambulance, and Dave -- once more a normal citizen -- comes out the front. Bill holds out for a few months then finally expires, the vp takes over, and Dave decides to run for city council, with the Widow Ellen by his side, and his favorite Secret Service agent guarding the door.
This is another one of those 'cute' movies that I happen to like a lot. And, since it's a political movie set in D.C., there are guest cameos a-plenty -- From Jay Leno and Kathleen Sullivan, to the late Tip O'Neill and Paul Simon, to afore mentioned Ah-nold and Oliver Stone (who does a magnificent job spoofing himself, it gave me a new appreciation for the man -- not his movies, but him). This is a very nice film -- and I find myself actually liking Kevin Kline now.
He's still to old for Pheobe Cates though.
Kevin plays 2 parts in this movie, Bill Mitchell (the president), and Dave Kovic. Dave is not the president, but an incredible simulation -- oh sorry, that was Beatlemania. Actually Dave runs a temp agency that tries (perhaps) a little too hard to find it's people work, even if it means talking his accountant Murray (Charles Grodin) into hiring someone he doesn't really need. And, since he does bear a striking resemblance to the president, he picks up spare money impersonating him. That brings him to the attention of a Secret Service agent (the eternally cool, Ving Rhames), who has been sent to find a guy to impersonate the president -- for security purposes. Or so the president can screw his secretary, which is the case here. Unfortunately for him, he (the president) suffers a massive stroke. So the chief of staff, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hatches a plan. He's a powerhungry twit, and decides to have Dave continue long enough to get rid of the current vice president (Ben Kingsley) and have himself appointed instead. Then they can get rid of the president, and he can take over. So Dave goes along with it, and all is fine, until he meets the first lady, Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver). She and the president don't get along (seems she has a thing about her husband sleeping around with other women), but when Dave sees her, he's immediately smitten. She, on the other hand, absolutely despises him -- which thrills Bob and Allan Reed (Kevin Dunn), the press secretary. Time goes on, the plot to discredit the vice-president is growing, and Dave gets to do all these fun public appearances -- goofing at a factory, visiting kids with Ah-nuld, throwing out the first pitch of the season, and finally a homeless shelter for kids. This he does with Ellen, who ends up quite suprised by the way her 'husband' seems to care about what happens to these kids. All of which blows up when Bob vetoes a bill that would have provided funding for the homeless -- and the shelter they visited. She storms into his shower to tear his head off. Dave has no clue as to what happend, and calls in Bob and Allan. Bob, who is outraged at having been called in, tells him that is he wants his homeless shelters so bad, he'll have to find 650 million dollars from the budget somewhere. So, Dave calls his accountant Murray in, sends out for some food, and the 2 of them manage to find the money. The next day at the cabinet meeting, Allan has arranged for the media to sit in on the 100th meeting, which is the perfect time for Dave to bring out his plan (who's gonna waffle with the media present). Dave finds the money, everyone cheers, except for Bob. Allan asks him what his problem is, he just did what he was told -- find 650 million dollars from the budget. Bob yells that he's going to get rid of Dave, and Allan says 'then we'll all go to jail'. Bob menacingly asks if that was a threat, and Allan says yes, I guess it is. Then Ellen comes in and asks Dave a trick question that he doesn't answer right. She then asks where Bill is. So Ellen, Dave, and Duane (the cool Secret Service guy) go down to a basement hospital where Bill is being kept alive by machines. Ellen decides it's time to leave, and so does Dave. They sneak out of the White House, get stopped by the cops (where the two of them have a hard time trying to convice the cops that they aren't the president and first lady). Then, they end up going on a date, where they decide to try to do some good. The first action is to fire Bob. Then a press conference where Dave announces a new jobs bill. The public, while thinking that the president has gone a little bit dotty, thinks it's a great idea. Then Bob, who has successfully embarassed the vice president, decides to go after the president too. He calls a press conference to announces his allegations. Dave says it's bad enough to trash the vice president, but he has to drag him is as well. That's when Allan tells him that it's all true. So one more ploy -- Dave calls for a joint session of congress, where he plans to answer to Bob's charges. He stands up, and says -- Yes, it's all true except for 2 things: The vice president had nothing to do with it, and: Bob Alexander did -- here's the written proof. Then as he's pleading for his jobs bill, he has a conveniently timed massive stroke. There's a mad dash to the hospital where the president comes out of the back of the ambulance, and Dave -- once more a normal citizen -- comes out the front. Bill holds out for a few months then finally expires, the vp takes over, and Dave decides to run for city council, with the Widow Ellen by his side, and his favorite Secret Service agent guarding the door.
This is another one of those 'cute' movies that I happen to like a lot. And, since it's a political movie set in D.C., there are guest cameos a-plenty -- From Jay Leno and Kathleen Sullivan, to the late Tip O'Neill and Paul Simon, to afore mentioned Ah-nold and Oliver Stone (who does a magnificent job spoofing himself, it gave me a new appreciation for the man -- not his movies, but him). This is a very nice film -- and I find myself actually liking Kevin Kline now.
He's still to old for Pheobe Cates though.
posted by little willie at
5:10 PM
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