Review of The American President (1995) by Shane B — 06 Dec 2007

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

The seeds of his 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. 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.

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, 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.

If you can see past its politics and Sesame Street cynicism, the love story is mostly interesting and should pass the time well enough. I couldn't, so it didn't.