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Starring: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening
Director: Rob Reiner
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Year: 1995
Rating: 5 / 5

One of the most unheralded films of recent years, The American President is one of the best. Whether you are looking for a laugh or some heart-warming moments, this movie seems to have a bit of everything. While I did find this movie enjoyable from the outset, repeat viewings have proven to me that this is a classic which can be watched again and again and again.

Michael Douglas (Fatal Attraction, Disclosure) gives what I feel is one of his best performances of all-time as President Andrew Shepherd, a first-term president coping with the twin tasks of raising his twelve year old daughter alone and running a nation. He is joined by an incredible supporting cast including Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, and the dazzling Michael J. Fox. This terrific ensemble helps bring alive Douglas' Shepherd, and leaves one genuinely caring what happens to him by movie's end.

The plot begins with a chance encounter between Douglas' Shepherd and Bening's Sydney Ellen Wade in the White House, the latter being there as a lobbyist for the GDC. Struck by her beauty and her intellect, Shepherd asks her into the Oval Office, where she becomes toungue-tied and generally shows that she has likewise been taken aback by her initial meeting with the President. From this point, we find Shepherd asking Wade to accompany him to a state dinner at the White House, and the fun begins from there.

The tension in the movie results from Shepherd's courting of Wade in an election year, as Shepherd is three years removed from his wife's death at the hands of cancer. This fact is weighed upon heavily by challenger Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), who was unable to attack Shepherd's character in the previous election due to the death of Shepherd's wife. Shepherd is therefore left to weigh his desire to lead this country against his desire to move on with his life.

If Douglas were not so remarkably suited for the role, this movie would not flow so perfectly across the screen, but do not underestimate the importance the rest of the cast has in its success. Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now) gives his best performance since Wall Street as the President's chief of staff, trying to balance the duties of his office with those of a friend. Michael J. Fox lights up the screen as upstart Lewis Rothschild, a role that paved the way for his current success with Spin City. And veterans Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Mr. Holland's Opus) and John Mahoney (Frasier) add clout to their smaller roles as presidential challenger and GDC head respectively.

The American President may not be for everyone, especially if one is offended by negative references to certain political parties, but it does pack some punch for the rest of the viewing public. I find that I can throw this movie in once a week or once a month and never get tired of laughing. After all, how can anyone be more excited than when they hear Michael Douglas step up to the microphone? "My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I AM the President!"

Cast:

Michael Douglas..........	Andrew Shepherd
Annette Bening..........	Sydney Ellen Wade
Martin Sheen..........	A.J. MacInerney
Michael J. Fox..........	Lewis Rothschild
David Paymer..........	Leon Kodak
Richard Dreyfuss..........	Bob Rumson

Certification: Rated PG-13.
Running Time: 114 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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