I'll Cast A Vote For The American President And Its Charming Romance

Watching it 22 years after its release, The American President is like stepping into a time machine and traveling back to a bygone era, when the computers were so large, Michael J. Fox was still around in movies (I always love seeing that guy in stuff!), Rob Reiner was making good high-profile movies and talking about the President didn't send a cold shiver down my spine. It's also a chance to see some of our most esteemed veteran actors like Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in something more light-hearted than they (well, primarily Bening in terms of modern-day roles) usually do.

The premise of the movie these two star in does sound like something out of a Tropic Thunder parody trailer when you first hear it. The President Of The United States, Andrew Shepard (Michael Douglas) is off on his most daunting task yet.....striking up a romance with a lady! Wackity schmackity dooooooo! In all seriousness though, yes, the plot concerns that concept, with Andrew Shepard attempting to win the heart of Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) by way of convincing her that there is a normal guy underneath the hefty job title and similarly lofty public persona.

If the premise sounds a little corny on its face, maybe it is a tad, but there's a lot about the world of romance that tends to be a little hackneyed in real life anyway. It's hard to complain about the movies schmaltzy tendencies when it's not only quite enjoyable to watch but it's those very schmaltzy qualities that help make it oh so pleasant. Instead of layering the reasoning behind the attraction between the two leads in overly convoluted backstories and what not, they just have Andrew Shepard be attracted to Sydney and pursue her, end of discussion.

This does mean a third act that has Andrew's romance affect his polling numbers just as an election year is about to gear up feel like an odd deviation from the easygoing romantic feeling of the rest of the motion picture, but even there, the two best elements still make the proceedings easily diverting. The first of those dual elements is Aaron Sorkin's writing, with Sorkin working in the same White House environment (complete with Martin Sheen!) that would provide plenty of storytelling fodder for him in the then forthcoming TV program The West Wing. If you think Sorkin has some crackling good pieces of banter between the lead romantic couple, you'd be right! There's plenty of sharply written zingers and colloquialisms dropped throughout, the kind of pieces of dialogue that Aaron Sorkin could write while in a coma.

Meanwhile, the other part of The American President that manages to work extremely well is the chemistry between Michael Douglas and Annette Bening, with Douglas particularly equipping himself well in the part of Andrew Shepard, a guy who commands a presence that just screams leadership while maintaining a casual persona that makes it easy to see why people feel so at ease around him. There isn't as much substance to the character of Sydney, but Annette Bening is utterly charming in the part and there's a believable rapport between her and Douglas that makes their romantic scenes together all the more entertaining.

The directing and editing of The American President could certainly stand to have some of the spark of ingenuity that's flowing between its two leads, with the visual stylings of the piece frequently coming off as paint-by-numbers, though I did garner some humor out of the visual trappings of an introductory scene for Andrew Shepard wherein the camera follows him as he walks down a hallway while talking with his advisors about a speech of his that feels like a precursor to The West Wing.  The American President is a dandy movie with an engaging lead romance that deliver a bit of escapism in providing a more idyllic representation of Presidential affairs compared to our currently reality.