This one has everything. Clever, politically intriguing script, crisp, funny dialog, stunning visuals, villains you can really hiss and stars the likes of which we won't see together again.
Why wasn't it a hit?
Perhaps the models used for the past presidents were hard for people to accept as humans. Perhaps things seemed a bit too real to thrown humorous barbs at?
Whatever happened that sent this film racing under the public’s radar it was a damn shame. With Jack Lemmon playing a Bush Sr.-esque ex-president forced to team up with a Bill Clinton-esque James Garner in a odyssey across the country, with the fate of the U.S. and their own lives at stake, this one has a lot of levels to play on.
While the pair are forced to stay incognito they are forced to see the America they had a part in creating. It is not always a picture they are proud of, and if they get out of this thing alive, they become determined to change for the better. With Dan Ackroyd as the slimy present president and seeming titular head of the faction out to kill his predecessors, there is a real sense of adventure along with a wonderful sense of humor. The cast is full of faces that you will recognize, but it is the top two who make you like them from the start, no matter what your political affiliation. This would make a great triple feature with "Dave" and "The American President."
Here is the cast:
Jack Lemmon . . . . President Russell P. Kramer
James Garner . . . . President Matt Douglas
Dan Aykroyd . . . . President William Haney
John Heard . . . . Vice President Ted Matthews
Wilford Brimley . . . . Joe Hollis
Lauren Bacall . . . . Margaret Kramer
Sela Ward . . . . Kaye Griffin
Everett McGill . . . . Col. Paul Tanner
Bradley Whitford . . . . Carl Witnaur
James Rebhorn . . . . Charlie Reynolds
Esther Rolle . . . . Rita
Conchata Ferrell . . . . Woman Truck Driver
Jack Kehler . . . . Wayne
Connie Ray . . . . Genny
Tom Everett . . . . NSA Agent Wilkerson
Whoever you voted for in the past, you will think that these guys would have been a much better choice.
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