IMDb > My Fellow Americans (1996)
My Fellow Americans
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My Fellow Americans (1996) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   6,046 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 39% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
E. Jack Kaplan (story) &
Richard Chapman (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for My Fellow Americans on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 December 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A comedy about life, liberty and the pursuit of two ex-presidents.
Plot:
Kramer and Douglas, two former presidents from opposite ends of the political spectrum, become reluctant... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Adam Lambert's Ama Performance And Other Shocking Musical TV Moments
 (From MTV Newsroom. 23 November 2009, 2:00 PM, PST)

Peter Segal Lines Up Projects At Warners
 (From EmpireOnline. 20 November 2008, 11:41 PM, PST)

User Comments:
Presidents Dumb and Dumber... more (58 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for salty language and innuendo.
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
This was originally supposed to be a Walter Matthau/'Jack Lemmon' movie. with the role of Matt Douglas written for Matthau. However, due to illness, Matthau pulled out and was replaced by James Garner. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The state of the windshield after crashing into the fast-food restaurant mascot. more
Quotes:
Russell Kramer: When this is over, promise me we'll come back and look for my balls. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Get Smart (2008) more
Soundtrack:
Don't Be That Way more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Presidents Dumb and Dumber..., 9 April 2000
8/10
Author: George Litman from Marietta, OH USA

So many professional actors, so much sophomoric humor. You gotta love it.

"My Fellow Americans" features Jack Lemmon and James Garner as ex-presidents on the run when they discover a cover-up with the present Chief of Staff (Dan Aykroyd) in the middle.

This isn't a movie anyone's going to take seriously, and well they shouldn't. There are lots of moments here that will elicit a laugh or two, maybe three. And what plot there is whizzes by at such a fast pace that there's more time to concentrate on the guffaws.

Lemmon and Garner play their parts as you'd expect. That they go the dumb route is no surprise; in fact, it makes their presence here all the more entertaining. Aykroyd basically plays the heavy here, so there's no real chance for him to generate any laughs. A shame, since he's usually so good at that.

Then there's the fact that real gems like Bacall and Brimley and Ward are just given throw-away parts; it's good to see them, of course, but you'd figure they'd have more to do (especially Bacall!!).

Kudos, though, to John Heard as the dim-witted Vice President. Some of the biggest laughs in this movie (for me) came from him. His eulogy at the funeral scene early in the movie always makes me laugh out, as does his pithy observations such as "Hey, a hat!". Beats me why he isn't in more movies.

As I said, the laughs are there, and if you demand nothing more from a comedy than to laugh, you'll want to do your political duty and rent "My Fellow Americans" - the one movie that insults both parties equally.

Seven stars, plus one extra for putting up an excellent "fakade".

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