Dave (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Bill Mitchell (Kevin Kline) is the 44th President of the United States. He is not the ideal President. He's distant; not wildly loved. And he is a philanderer. On a night when he wants to have a fling with one of his female aides, his Secret Service guys arrange for Dave Kovic (again, Kline), his 'double', to impersonate him (as President, while he's off having fun). Unfortunately for Pres. Mitchell, during intercourse, he has a massive stroke that leaves him in a deep coma. 2 of his aides (Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn) bypass the Vice-President option (for overseeing the nation) & persuade Dave to stay on & continue the illegal 'double' masquerade indefinitely. He agrees; & his subsequent performance is just good enough to fool even the First Lady, Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver).
Problems arise, of course, when Dave starts to do quite well in the leadership position. Dave is - by nature - a kind, compassionate man who likes to help people find jobs & is inherently un-Bill Mitchell-like. The world starts to take notice in the President's turn-for-the-better. The First Lady is similarly stunned at his changed attitude/persona. And instead of being the puppet that his corrupt Chief of Staff wants him to be ... it looks like Dave (Pres. Mitchell) is becoming a better president than they could have ever hoped for. Can Bob Alexander (Langella) make himself president by smearing the VP & making Dave look in a bad light (to Ellen)? Or will Dave's inherent good nature override Bob's nefarious plans?
'Dave' is a pretty predictable movie. But you know what? This is a who cares about that kind of movie; because it's so gosh-darned fun, endearing, & winning. I praise its enjoyability, it's energy ... & think it will win-over a lot of audiences. You know when you're feeling down in the dumps, & you just want to go to the movies to escape & enter a fake movie-world that you can get lost in? That's this movie. It's just pure, uncluttered entertainment. And it's rare nowadays to see a film like this. You know -- one that isn't artful, pretentious, or aimed for Oscars. Haha - OR - one that's downright awful. The politics in the screenplay are not very truthful. Nothing like the plot in this movie would ever, ever play out in real life. But again, that's not really the point.
And of course, when you have the amiable casting of Kevin Kline & Sigourney Weaver ... it never hurts. Kevin Kline is simply wonderful as Dave/Bill Mitchell. His comedic timing is as brilliant as ever. And he just never disappoints; comedically or dramatically. Sigourney is very effective as the left-in-the-shadows Ellen. Her chemistry with Kline is great. I enjoyed Ving Rhames' uber-serious Secret Service Agent. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Leno, & Larry King make some brief, memorable cameos. And Frank Langella makes for the perfect villain; no surprise. Overall, I just got such a kick out of this savvy political comedy (political films are NOT my forte), & it's nice to see how ordinary citizens can still make a difference ... even if it only exists in the movies.
Problems arise, of course, when Dave starts to do quite well in the leadership position. Dave is - by nature - a kind, compassionate man who likes to help people find jobs & is inherently un-Bill Mitchell-like. The world starts to take notice in the President's turn-for-the-better. The First Lady is similarly stunned at his changed attitude/persona. And instead of being the puppet that his corrupt Chief of Staff wants him to be ... it looks like Dave (Pres. Mitchell) is becoming a better president than they could have ever hoped for. Can Bob Alexander (Langella) make himself president by smearing the VP & making Dave look in a bad light (to Ellen)? Or will Dave's inherent good nature override Bob's nefarious plans?
'Dave' is a pretty predictable movie. But you know what? This is a who cares about that kind of movie; because it's so gosh-darned fun, endearing, & winning. I praise its enjoyability, it's energy ... & think it will win-over a lot of audiences. You know when you're feeling down in the dumps, & you just want to go to the movies to escape & enter a fake movie-world that you can get lost in? That's this movie. It's just pure, uncluttered entertainment. And it's rare nowadays to see a film like this. You know -- one that isn't artful, pretentious, or aimed for Oscars. Haha - OR - one that's downright awful. The politics in the screenplay are not very truthful. Nothing like the plot in this movie would ever, ever play out in real life. But again, that's not really the point.
And of course, when you have the amiable casting of Kevin Kline & Sigourney Weaver ... it never hurts. Kevin Kline is simply wonderful as Dave/Bill Mitchell. His comedic timing is as brilliant as ever. And he just never disappoints; comedically or dramatically. Sigourney is very effective as the left-in-the-shadows Ellen. Her chemistry with Kline is great. I enjoyed Ving Rhames' uber-serious Secret Service Agent. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jay Leno, & Larry King make some brief, memorable cameos. And Frank Langella makes for the perfect villain; no surprise. Overall, I just got such a kick out of this savvy political comedy (political films are NOT my forte), & it's nice to see how ordinary citizens can still make a difference ... even if it only exists in the movies.