Head of State (2003)

When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, Washington, D.C. alderman, Mays Gilliam is unexpectedly picked as his replacement.

Director:

Chris Rock

Writers:

Chris Rock, Ali LeRoi

Stars:

Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dylan Baker

9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Rock	...	Mays Gilliam
Bernie Mac	...	Mitch Gilliam
Dylan Baker	...	Martin Geller
Nick Searcy	...	Brian Lewis
Lynn Whitfield	...	Debra Lassiter
Robin Givens	...	Kim
Tamala Jones	...	Lisa Clark
James Rebhorn	...	Senator Bill Arnot
Keith David	...	Bernard Cooper
Tracy Morgan	...	Meat Man
Stephanie March	...	Nikki
Robert Stanton	...	Advisor
Jude Ciccolella	...	Mr. Earl
Nate Dogg	...	Himself
Angie Mattson	...	Nate's Girl

Storyline

Mays Gilliam, a Washington D.C. neighborhood Alderman, is about to be red-lined out of his job. But after the untimely death of the party frontrunner, Gilliam is plucked from obscurity, and thrust into the limelight as his party's nominee--for President of the United States. The players in Gilliam's life include: Mitch Gilliam, his unsophisticated older brother who becomes his running mate; Kim, his ex-girlfriend who had once dumped him, but who now has a sudden change of heart as she sees a chance at becoming First Lady; Martin Geller, his campaign manager; Lisa Clark, the woman who truly believes in Gilliam; and Debra Lassiter, the woman who doesn't have faith in his candidacy, and is serving as his reluctant advisor.

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Plot Keywords:

alderman | party | washington d.c. | president | homosexuality | 

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Taglines:

The only thing white is the house.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chef de l'état

Filming Locations:

Annapolis, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$13,503,484 (USA) (28 March 2003)

Gross:

$37,788,228 (USA) (6 June 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, 3 Art Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the presidential debate is a verbatim repeat of Monty Python's Argument Sketch.

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Goofs

When Mays promises to drive Mr. Hawkins to work if the bus line gets shut down, the clock on the wall is stopped.

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Quotes

Mays Gilliam: I'm the Government, I can do anything.

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, it lists many famous politicians, then in parenthesis it says "(Are not in this movie)".

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Connections

References Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

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Soundtracks

"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
Written by Sylvester (as James Sylvester) & James Wirrick
Performed by Michael O'Hara
Courtesy of Spirit Music Group o/b/o Wirrick Music

User Reviews

Mr. Rock has guts

Intelligent. Chris Rock has balls and he mixes old-school comedy (think SNL in the 80s) and current American politics. ie. both the republican and democrats are corrupt and greedy, with no one but themselves at interest when it comes to "The United States of America." But, as Mr. Rock points out in the commentary, this film is a comedy, and not intended to be a political commentary.

So why then did so few people think it was funny? Perhaps b/c they can't see the humour in their own country...how hysterical that the most God-blessed, powerful, and wealthy country in the world can be falling apart so badly. And that the government in election years must pretend to care about its citizens, when obviously they only care about the people who are handing them cheques.

Delightfully irreverent, Chris Rock steps up to the plate.