Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511200078
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It's the first assistant director's name - Frank Capra III. And Grandpa would have been very proud.
Not that director/producer Rob Reiner hasn't demonstrated a special fondness for old-fashioned Hollywood filmmaking himself. It certainly revealed itself in ``When Harry Met Sally'' and in the not-so-great ``A Few Good Men.''
This time, with the considerable help of a good script and terrific ensemble cast, Reiner has managed to put together a successful old-fashioned romantic comedy about a widowed president who falls in love with a lobbyist.
Cupid strikes in spite of the fact that when President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) and Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) first meet, she is ripping him up one side and down the other for his lukewarm record on environmental issues. She doesn't know that he has entered the room through a door directly behind her, and she must sputter out an apology - but it won't be for the last time that day.
Wade is a brave woman. In order to pursue a relationship with Shepherd, she is willing to endure the scrutiny of the press and vilification by right-wing presidential hopeful Sen. Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss). All the while, she is in the midst of gathering support for an unpopular bill that would reduce fossil fuel emissions by 20 percent.
The charm of this movie is in its fine melding of wit and obvious moralizing. Without the snappy repartee, it would just seem sort of dumb. Without the contributions of Michael J. Fox as a George Stephanopolous-type adviser, Anna Deavere Smith as press secretary, David Paymer as some kind of policy wonk, and Samantha Mathis as Shepherd's personal secretary, it just wouldn't be believable. (Too bad someone didn't write a few more funny lines for Fox; he is such an ace with them.)
The problems are these: Michael Douglas could shower for the rest of his life and he'd still seem vaguely smarmy (some would argue that adds credibility to a portrayal of an American president). He has to work awfully hard to overcome that liability. And if Martin Sheen (who plays the chief of staff) has any new tricks up his sleeve, he'd better prove it soon.
And last, but certainly not least, there's the ``gal'' factor. Bening, who has no trouble pulling off braininess, just barely manages to pull off one of those Capraesque plot contrivances that makes you wonder whether her IQ just dropped about 30 points: She's come over to the White House to break up with the prez; less than a minute later, she's gliding fetchingly out of the First Bathroom in a man's shirt, period. And testing the bed springs with one paw.
It's got to happen; the story requires it. But it undermines her character.
It's a typical sacrifice in a typically ``old-fashioned'' Hollywood movie - not one that all women, in particular, will suffer gladly.
Ultimately, however, ``The American President'' is a pretty neat movie with a boldly liberal agenda. That's Capraesque, to be sure.
The American President
*** 1/4
A Columbia-Castle Rock film, showing at Salem Valley 8 and Tanglewood Mall. Rated PG-13 for adult situations and some profanity. 114 minutes.
by CNB