Movies - The American President

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	Movies - The American President

The American President is a 1995 romantic drama movie directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. It stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox.

In it President Andrew Shepherd (Douglas) is a Democrat attempting to win re-election and the attentions of attractive lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening), who has just moved to Washington, D.C.

Plot

Shepard is introduced as an immensely popular president preparing to run for re-election. The President and his staff, led by Chief of Staff A.J. McInnerney (Martin Sheen), attempt to consolidate the administration's high poll ratings by passing a moderate crime control bill. The difficulty is, support for the bill is not very strong. Conservatives and Republicans don't want the bill at all, and liberals and Democrats think the bill is too weak.

The President of France is also about to arrive on a state visit to the United States, presenting the leader of the free world with the awkward predicament of having to find a partner to accompany him to the state dinner. Shepard's wife has been dead for three years prior to the movie's start. The President's cousin, with whom he had planned on attending, is ill.

The President's attention soon focuses on the attractive Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening), who has just moved to Washington, D.C. to work for an environmental lobby in the attempt to persuade the President to pass legislation committing his Administration to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions. During their first meeting, Shepard and Wade, are immediately intrigued with each other, and Shepard invites Wade.

During the state dinner, as well as subsequent occasions (during which Shepard acts as pursuer), the couple fall in love. The relationship, as well as Shepard's politicing down the middle result in a decline in his popularity. The decline is spurred by relentless attacks of presidential hopeful Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfus). The attacks focus on Wade's activist past, an attack on Shepard's family values, and the President's refusal to respond to Republican attacks (although he is vague as to which attacks Shepard won't respond to). The President's precarious situation is exacerbated by the impending failure of his crime bill.

His dwindling popularity force him to come into conflict with Wade. He is forced to decide whether to keep his promise to help her with her lobby's environmental goals or play it safe and salvage his political career.

Analysis

The film has been mistaken as a tribute to Bill Clinton and his presidency and an apologetic view of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The film does, however, share some parallels to Clinton's presidency, athough there are numerous differences. While Clinton committed adultery with the young Monica Lewinsky, the widowed Shepherd dates another single adult his age.

It has also been considered an unabashedly liberal film by some, who say that the filmmakers portrayed all Democrats as noble, forthcoming and trustworthy while the Republicans are portrayed as uneducated, pro-gun, and deceitful. In one scene, Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox) advocates for tough gun control laws, a staple of liberal policy goals, and is shot down by President Sheperd due to the realities of American politics, rather than the protection of constitutional rights.

The West Wing

The screenplay was written by Aaron Sorkin, and inspired many aspects of his television drama The West Wing. Like many of Sorkin's projects, the two productions share liberal ideologies and follow the staff of a largely Utopian White House. Even the set of the Oval Office in The American President was later used in The West Wing. The movie's influence can be seen most clearly in early episodes of The West Wing; some dialogue from the two are nearly identical. Sorkin has been known to say that much of the first season was actually taken from material he edited out of the first draft of The American President's script.

The two also have some of the same actors, including Martin Sheen, Anna Deavere Smith, Nina Siemaszko, and Joshua Malina. Sorkin was accused of lifting ideas from an earlier screenplay by William Richert, which was denied by the WGA.

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