Annette Bening Movie:

				Salesrank: 247982
		Used Price: $3.99
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
What sounds like the high-concept romantic comedy pitch from hell--widower president falls for smart lobbyist while the world watches--is actually intelligent, charming, touching, and quite funny. Granted, it's wish fulfillment all the way (when was the last time you saw a president who was truly presidential?), but in the capable hands of writer Aaron Sorkin (TV's Sports Night) and director Rob Reiner, The American President is incredibly enjoyable entertainment with quite a few ideas about both romance and the government. Michael Douglas stars as the president, who after three years in office starts thinking about the possibility of dating. When he auspiciously encounters cutthroat environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), sparks begin to crackle and the two begin a tentative but heartfelt romance. Of course, his job gets in the way--their first kiss is interrupted by a Libyan bombing--but darn it if these two kids aren't going to try and make it work! However, they hadn't counted on the president's Republican antagonist (Richard Dreyfuss), who starts carping about family values. The predictable plot--Douglas finally goes to bat for his lady and his country--is leavened by Sorkin's wonderful, snappy dialogue and a light touch from the usually subtle-as-a-sledgehammer Reiner. Both manage to create a believable White House-office atmosphere (with a crack staff including Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, and Samantha Mathis) as well as a plausible and funny dating scenario. The true success of the movie, though, rides squarely on Douglas and Bening; this is unequivocally Douglas's best comedic performance (ergo his best performance, period) and Bening, usually such a good bad girl, takes a standard career-woman role and fleshes it out magnificently. You can see in an instant why Douglas would fall for her. One of the best unsung romantic comedies of the '90s. --Mark Englehart

The American President [Region 2] Reviews:
President
2009-10-12 - Wonderful movie, great casting, and very well done story line. A must have video.

Revenge of the Leftists
2009-10-06 - ...should have been the title of this flick. Michael Douglas is a very fine actor, and the scriptwriters are happy to provide us with standard Hollywierd fare. Here we have an incredibly cool, Leftist President with a gorgeous girlfriend and an impossibly cute daughter, fighting off all of those evil conservatives. If the script could have avoided gagging the viewer with a high-pressure liberal rant, this could have been a charming movie about a handsome cool widower President and a gorgeous and charming girfriend. That alone would, or at least could, have made for great entertainment. But no, we simply have to take our medicine in the form of 200 proof Leftist bias, and unfortunately many of us just can't choke it down.

If you don't mind the bias, there is a decent (not great) movie in here somewhere. Good luck finding it. RJB.

Great movie!
2009-07-07 - I love this movie - great acting, great story. So glad to get it so cheap on Amazon.

great movie of micheal
2009-05-25 - just had to replace the one i own i wanted in full screen but they sent it in wide screen format only if i wanted in wide screen format i would of got it at the lesser price but they mess up on the order thanks bill

Fine actors, poor movie
2009-05-18 - All these actors have distinguished themselves in many other roles and Sorkin has written some great tv (West Wing, anyone?), which is why it is sad to say that this is a poor film. Some good lines of dialogue cannot cover the preposterousness of the story, with a president too liberal for conservatives and sometimes too conservative for liberals!! It swerves too much and really only gets going in the last five minutes. In fact, it ends JUST as it was about to get really freakin' interesting!!