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The American President

  • 19951995
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
56K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,093
317
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in The American President (1995)
Home Video Trailer from Columbia Pictures
Play trailer1:35
2 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance

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.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.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.

IMDb RATING
6.8/10
56K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,093
317
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writer
    • Aaron Sorkin
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Annette Bening
    • Martin Sheen
Top credits
  • Director
    • Rob Reiner
  • Writer
    • Aaron Sorkin
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Annette Bening
    • Martin Sheen
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 252User reviews
    • 68Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 10 nominations total

    Videos2

    The American President
    Trailer 1:35
    The American President
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin
    Clip 5:24
    A Guide to the Work of Aaron Sorkin

    Photos212

    Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in The American President (1995)
    Warren Beatty and Annette Bening at an event for The American President (1995)
    Billy Crystal at an event for The American President (1995)
    Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest at an event for The American President (1995)
    Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman at an event for The American President (1995)
    Michael Douglas at an event for The American President (1995)
    Jane Fonda and Ted Turner at an event for The American President (1995)
    Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant at an event for The American President (1995)
    Kenny G at an event for The American President (1995)
    Rob Reiner and Michele Singer at an event for The American President (1995)
    Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin at an event for The American President (1995)
    Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in The American President (1995)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    • Andrew Shepherdas Andrew Shepherd
    Annette Bening
    Annette Bening
    • Sydney Ellen Wadeas Sydney Ellen Wade
    Martin Sheen
    Martin Sheen
    • A.J. MacInerneyas A.J. MacInerney
    Michael J. Fox
    Michael J. Fox
    • Lewis Rothschildas Lewis Rothschild
    Anna Deavere Smith
    Anna Deavere Smith
    • Robin McCallas Robin McCall
    Samantha Mathis
    Samantha Mathis
    • Janie Basdinas Janie Basdin
    Shawna Waldron
    Shawna Waldron
    • Lucy Shepherdas Lucy Shepherd
    David Paymer
    David Paymer
    • Leon Kodakas Leon Kodak
    Anne Haney
    Anne Haney
    • Mrs. Chapilas Mrs. Chapil
    Richard Dreyfuss
    Richard Dreyfuss
    • Senator Rumsonas Senator Rumson
    Nina Siemaszko
    Nina Siemaszko
    • Beth Wadeas Beth Wade
    Wendie Malick
    Wendie Malick
    • Susan Sloanas Susan Sloan
    Beau Billingslea
    Beau Billingslea
    • Agent Cooperas Agent Cooper
    Gail Strickland
    Gail Strickland
    • Esther MacInerneyas Esther MacInerney
    Joshua Malina
    Joshua Malina
    • Davidas David
    Clement von Franckenstein
    Clement von Franckenstein
    • President D'Astieras President D'Astier
    Efrat Lavie
    Efrat Lavie
    • Madame D'Astieras Madame D'Astier
    John Mahoney
    John Mahoney
    • Leo Solomonas Leo Solomon
    • Director
      • Rob Reiner
    • Writer
      • Aaron Sorkin
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —garykmcd
    presidentpoliticschristmasdatingreference to franklin d. roosevelt58 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Why can't the most powerful man in the world have the one thing he wants most?
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Romance
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG-13 for some strong language
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Before the movie starting shooting, Michael J. Fox was still keeping his Parkinson's disease a secret. He felt he would lose the role if Rob Reiner found out. During a basic and routine fitness screening, Fox was terrified that clinicians would detect the periodic shaking in his left hand and eventually connect it to Parkinson's. Fortunately for Fox, he took his medication in time to quell the shaking and the test amounted to nothing more than checking heart rate and blood pressure.
    • Goofs
      After the President's big speech at the end of the movie, staff members are walking quickly back to re-write the State of the Union address. After Leon says "Well, you don't see that every day," Louis says "Yeah - he's got the members of the press corps asking each other how to spell 'erudite.'" Although the president never uses the word 'erudite' in his speech, erudite is an apt description of his demeanor during the speech. This was a reference to his demeanor, not a reference to something he said.
    • Quotes

      Lewis Rothschild: [in the Oval Office] You have a deeper love of this country than any man I've ever known. And I want to know what it says to you that in the past seven weeks, 59% of Americans have begun to question your patriotism.

      President Andrew Shepherd: Look, if the people want to listen to...

      Lewis Rothschild: They don't have a choice! Bob Rumson is the only one doing the talking! People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

      President Andrew Shepherd: Lewis, we've had presidents who were beloved, who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The American President/Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls/Kicking and Screaming/Carrington/Total Eclipse (1995)
    • Soundtracks
      Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050, 1st Movement: Allegro
      by Johann Sebastian Bach

    User reviews252

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    good romance
    This film worked for the same reason the West Wing works... it humanizes the President. Yes, the most powerful man in the world has feelings and falls in love. I liked one reviewer's comment saying that this film is Capra-esque. It certainly is because of its overall feel-good aspect and optimism. I enjoyed this film, and Michael Douglas seldom disappoints me. 8/10.
    helpful•31
    19
    • enmussak
    • Dec 20, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 17, 1995 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Warner Bros.
      • WB Shop / Warner Archive
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Американський президент
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Castle Rock Entertainment
      • Wildwood Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $62,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $60,079,496
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,014,558
      • Nov 19, 1995
    • Gross worldwide
      • $107,879,496
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 54 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • SDDS
      • DTS-Stereo
      • Dolby SR
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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