Dave - Presidente per un giorno

The Prisoner of Zenda. Moon over Parador. The Man in the Iron Mask. A look-alike impersonates a national leader. This idea has been used before. Heck, Robert Heinlein won the Hugo award almost 60 years ago with this old gag in his book Double Star.

But Kevin Kline gives it wide-eyed freshness as a likable nobody who finds himself playing the U.S. president and romancing the first lady. And the audience gets an insider's view of Washington's corridors of power and the schemers who make their living there.

It's a far-fetched piece of whimsy, but the treatment is clever, adult, romantic and sharply satirical and the result is a winning confection of a film with beautiful comedic timing.

"Dave" is actually a remake of a movie originally filmed a few decades ago, but the knock on remakes hardly applies to this film.

A strong cast and a heart warming story provide entertainment value throughout this movie, and Kevin Kline's dual role as the corrupt President and the struggling employment agency owner is another in the long list of examples of his versatility.

"Dave" makes you wish that a dose of common sense could actually enter into the picture in our federal government, but of course that element of the film makes it the biggest fantasy effort of all time. LOL

This is one of the few movies I will watch any time it comes on, and I enjoy it just as much every time I see it.

Bob Mitchell is the typical US president. Dodgy, rich, adulterous, you know the rest. Whilst he is supposed to attend a function he uses a double, the nice guy Dave Kovic, as a stand-in so he can spend the night with his secretary. However, after he suffers a massive stroke, he lapses into a coma, his chief of staff and chief scriptwriter however are intertwined in a corruption scandal and if the vice president takes over they will be scuppered. So rather than do that they decide to keep using the stand-in to maintain the illusion that the president is just fine.

Not having suffered the rise to power that many politicians go through Dave isn't blinded by just running things the way they always have been and can see the many wrong decisions that politicians make simply to keep the status quo and, after tiring of simply following the orders of the chief of staff, decides to do what so few US presidents do, and make things better for the working man.

To this and the last decade Gary Ross is what Frank Capra was to the thirties and forties, with a variety of feel good films that challenge are ideas about what the world is and what it should be. The script for this film is dynamite with a ton of great touches, including Dave's changing from Presidential script reader to tourist as he spots a souvenir. The film manages to stride in between the dangerous path of a hard right "Eastwood-Esque" take on things and the ultra-liberal path that someone like Redford would focus on. Instead the film manages to put itself in the minds of the ordinary Joe, who watches in disbelief at the stupid things that the powers that be spend money on, when so many problems still go on without being addressed at all, with sound bites like "You can't solve problems by throwing money at them" (How come it's only the wealthy that say that?)

The performances are all first rate with Kevin Kline magnificent as the idealistic Dave Kovic thrown into the deep end after becoming the leader of the free world, Frank Langella and Alan Reed also excel as the Chief of staff and Chief scriptwriter, with Charles Grodin stealing the scene as the put upon Murray who takes on various people from Dave's temp agency when he is stuck finding work for people elsewhere. The direction is nothing special but succeeds in telling the story with humour and sadness that very often the people who get the top job have so little knowledge of the people at the bottom to make any significant change in society.

First rate, and far better than the IMDb rating suggests. Also watch out for a great end gag. Top drawer.

This film just has greatness written all over it! First you have a great director, Ivan Reitman, then you have a slew of great actors: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kinsley, Charles Grodin and Laura Linney. All the actors did a great job in this film. The film is sometimes funny, and sometimes touching. It's all very well done in this film. The story is a very interesting one, and not too terribly far-fetched.

There really isn't much to say other than if you like any of these actors or director above, then you should probably see this film. Or, if you think you'd like a little comedy/drama, then check it out. I really enjoyed this film and I hope you will as well. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

"Dave" should have been a pure mess of a movie, but instead it is a highly enjoyable film which has great elements of comedy and drama. Kevin Kline stars as the title character who must impersonate the president of the United States after the real president suffers a massive heart attack which has left him in a coma. "Dave" goes for laughs, but also has a great deal of drama which keeps the audience intrigued throughout. Frank Langella does some of the best work of his career. Sigourney Weaver, Ving Rhames, Charles Grodin, and Ben Kingsley are all perfectly cast in supporting roles. The screenplay is smart and the direction never loses its focus. 4.5 out of 5 stars.