The American President (1995)

A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer:

Aaron Sorkin

Stars:

Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Douglas	...	Andrew Shepherd
Annette Bening	...	Sydney Ellen Wade
Martin Sheen	...	A.J. MacInerney
Michael J. Fox	...	Lewis Rothschild
Anna Deavere Smith	...	Robin McCall
Samantha Mathis	...	Janie Basdin
Shawna Waldron	...	Lucy Shepherd
David Paymer	...	Leon Kodak
Anne Haney	...	Mrs. Chapil
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Senator Rumson
Nina Siemaszko	...	Beth Wade
Wendie Malick	...	Susan Sloan
Beau Billingslea	...	Agent Cooper
Gail Strickland	...	Esther MacInerney
Joshua Malina	...	David

Storyline

Andrew Shepherd is approaching the end of his first term as President of the United States. He's a widower with a young daughter and has proved to be popular with the public. His election seems assured. That is until he meets Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He's immediately smitten with her and after several amusing attempts, they finally manage to go on a date (which happens to be a State dinner for the visiting President of France). His relationship with Wade opens the door for his prime political opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to launch an attack on the President's character, something he could not do in the previous election as Shepherd's wife had only recently died.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to franklin d. roosevelt | reference to martin van buren | president | speechwriter | bouquet | 

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Taglines:

Why can't the most powerful man in the world have the one thing he wants most?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael J. Fox based his portrayal of Lewis Rothschild on George Stephanopoulos.

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Goofs

When Sydney leaves the residence at the White House after her first night with the President, she wears earrings that she didn't have the evening before (when she came promptly to tell him why she couldn't see him anymore). I can assure you no woman exhibits earrings like that at 5 AM if she hadn't worn them before (hiding in her pockets?!?). During the same scene, it's amazing to observe A.J. with his hands in his back, in his pockets and in his back again through the movements of cameras.

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Quotes

A.J.: [after walking on west colonnade in the White House] Good night, Mr. President.
President Andrew Shepherd: A.J.?
A.J.: Yes, sir?
President Andrew Shepherd: When we're out of the office, and alone, you can call me Andy.
A.J.: I beg your pardon, sir?
President Andrew Shepherd: You were the best man at my wedding, for crying out loud. Call me Andy.
A.J.: Whatever you say, Mr. President.

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Alternate Versions

Company logos change between versions. For example, on the laserdisc, the movie starts with a 20-second silent Columbia logo (before the Castle Rock logo), and the end credits crawl includes (after the title of the movie has gone onscreen) a line-art logo "Released by Columbia Pictures/A Sony Pictures Entertainment company" that crawls up and stops, over the end of the music. On the international prints, the 1990-1997 Universal logo was played and it was also silent. The 1999 WB DVD skips the opening logo, starting with the Castle Rock logo instead, and where the Columbia logo at the end should appear as the music ends, a still clouds-and-shield WB logo appears instead (Distributed by WB/A Warner Communications Company). The Columbia versions are probably truer to the original theatrical release. See also The Shawshank Redemption.

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Connections

Featured in The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007)

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Soundtracks

Hail to the Chief
(uncredited)
Music by James Sanderson
[Heard several times including played on trombone by Shawna Waldron]

User Reviews

The thinking woman's Pretty Woman

I don't mean that as a slam. I like Pretty Woman a lot, too. But this movie is my "cure for all ills" movie. The one I throw in the DVD player on rainy Sunday afternoons and crack out my best junk food. And the political setting seems to give it more meat.

Michael Douglas is perfect. Annette Benning is perfect (and I would give anything to look as beautiful as she does in that blue dress at the State Dinner). Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Anna Devoure Smith. People being passionate about each other and about important issues and about doing the right thing. Everything about this movie lifts me up when I'm feeling down.

I'm not a liberal, and I'm not a conservative - I fall somewhere in the middle. My beliefs in gun control to not include "(getting) the guns". But this movie is so good - that I can look past the occasional differences in political views. Those views are presented in a smart, thoughtful and constructive manner - and I appreciate them even though they are not my own.

I enjoy this movie for what it is - a sweet, smart, funny movie set in one of the most "romantic" settings in the world - The White House.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. WB Shop / Warner Archive

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Spanish

Release Date:

17 November 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The American President

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,014,558, 19 November 1995

Gross USA:

$60,079,496

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$107,879,496

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS DTS-Stereo Dolby SR Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1