- This article is about a movie. For the chief executive of the United States, see President of the United States.
The American President is a 1995 romantic comedy movie directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. It stars Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x755, 49 KB) This image is of a movie poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the movie or the studio which produced the movie in question. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1947 in The Bronx, New York) is an American actor, director, producer, writer and anti-tobacco activist. ...
Charles Newirth (Born August 22, 1955 in New York City) is an American film producer. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1947 in The Bronx, New York) is an American actor, director, producer, writer and anti-tobacco activist. ...
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born on June 9, 1961 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. ...
Douglas at the Cinedom Movie Theater in Cologne, Germany, January, 1997 For other uses, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
Artist Amber Shay Baker with Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress. ...
Martin Sheen Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez August 3, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American actor, best known for his roles in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the television drama The West Wing. ...
David Paymer (born 30 August 1954) is an American character actor, seen in such films as The In-Laws, Crazy People, State and Main, Payback, Get Shorty, Armistad, Carpool, City Hall, and Into the West. ...
Samantha Mathis (b. ...
For other people named Michael Fox, see Michael Fox (disambiguation). ...
Marc Shaiman (born October 22, 1959) is a composer and lyricist for films and theatre. ...
John Seale (born October 5, 1942 in Warwick, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian cinematographer. ...
Hughes Winborne is a Hollywood Film editor. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Turner Entertainment Company was established August 4, 1986 to oversee Turner Broadcastings film library after its acquisition of MGM/UA. In addition to the studio, Turner got its library, which included all of MGMs films, Warner Bros. ...
Warner Bros. ...
The current Universal Studios logo Universal Studios (sometimes called Universal Pictures), a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the major American film studios that has production studios and offices located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County between Los...
17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ...
1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1969 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...
1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. ...
Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ...
The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ...
Robert Rob Reiner (born March 6, 1947 in The Bronx, New York) is an American actor, director, producer, writer and anti-tobacco activist. ...
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born on June 9, 1961 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. ...
Douglas at the Cinedom Movie Theater in Cologne, Germany, January, 1997 For other uses, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
Artist Amber Shay Baker with Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress. ...
Martin Sheen Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez August 3, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American actor, best known for his roles in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the television drama The West Wing. ...
For other people named Michael Fox, see Michael Fox (disambiguation). ...
In it President Andrew Shepherd (Douglas) is a widower and Democrat who pursues a relationship with attractive lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening) — who has just moved to Washington, D.C. — while at the same time attempting to win re-election. The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1969 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...
Douglas at the Cinedom Movie Theater in Cologne, Germany, January, 1997 For other uses, see Michael Douglas (disambiguation). ...
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ...
Lobbying is the practice of private advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing body, in order to ensure that an individuals or organizations point of view is represented in the government. ...
Artist Amber Shay Baker with Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress. ...
Composer Marc Shaiman was nominated for the "Original Musical or Comedy Score" Oscar for The American President.[1][2] Marc Shaiman (born October 22, 1959) is a composer and lyricist for films and theatre. ...
From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ...
The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ...
The film was nominated for Golden Globes for best director, best screenplay, best actor in a comedy/musical for Michael Douglas, best actress in a comedy/musical for Annette Bening, and best comedy/musical motion picture.[3][4] The Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ...
Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ...
For the main article see Golden Globe Awards. ...
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. ...
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951. ...
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ...
Plot Shepherd is introduced as an immensely popular president from the state of Wisconsin 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 that 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. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
Joshua B. Bolten, the current White House Chief of Staff. ...
Martin Sheen Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez August 3, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American actor, best known for his roles in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the television drama The West Wing. ...
A poll is either an election or a survey of a particular group. ...
Rating is a means of classifying things in different categories. ...
// The Republican Party (often referred to as the GOP, for Grand Old Party) is one of the two major political organizations in the United States two party system; the Democratic Party is the other. ...
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. Shepherd'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. State dinners in different countries follow different rules and are governed by different protocols. ...
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, Shepherd and Wade are immediately intrigued by each other, and Shepherd invites Wade. Artist Amber Shay Baker with Annette Bening Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress. ...
At the same meeting, Shepherd strikes a deal with Wade: if she can secure a certain number of votes for the environmental bill, he will deliver the rest. Whatever his personal feelings towards Wade, he expresses this to his staff, especially the pragmatic A.J., as a sound political move. He believes Wade will not be able to get enough votes to meet her obligation, thus releasing Shepherd who will be seen to have tried, without being blamed for failing.
During the state dinner, as well as subsequent occasions (during which Shepherd acts as pursuer), the couple fall in love. The relationship, as well as Shepherd's politicking down the middle, results in a decline in his popularity. The decline is spurred by relentless attacks by presidential hopeful Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss). The attacks focus on Wade's activist past, an attack on Shepherd's family values, and the President's refusal to respond to Republican attacks (although the plot is perhaps vague on the attacks to which Shepherd won't respond). The President's precarious situation is exacerbated by the impending failure of his crime bill. Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an Oscar-winning American actor. ...
This article discusses family values as a moral and political concept. ...
Eventually Wade does manage to get enough votes to meet her part of the deal. Before she can tell Shepherd, he is offered a deal by Congress: if he shelves the environmental bill, they'll pass the crime bill. He agrees, betraying Wade, who breaks up with him.
The film builds to a climax timed to coincide with the State of the Union, planned as a conciliatory, non-partisan event. However, ruminating on Wade leaving him and his sacrifice of a bill he believes in for the sake of a bill he doesn't really believe will have much effect, Shepherd has a change of heart.
He makes a surprise appearance in the White House press room to rebut the Republican attacks on his values and character, and then sends the controversial environmental bill to Congress, promising that he will write a stronger crime bill in due time, and fight for that as well. His passionate defence of what he believes, in contrast with his earlier moderate conciliation, galvanizes the press room and his staff. His speech writer Rothschild has only a half an hour to re-write the State of the Union speech to reflect the new, confrontational tone of the administration. Wade comes back to him, arriving in the oval office just before he leaves for the Hill leading to a reconciliation.
The movie ends with Shepherd entering the House to rapturous applause, heavy with the implication that his new, ideologically motivated firm stance will lift him to new heights of popularity.
Spoilers end here.
Analysis The film has been mistaken as a tribute to Bill Clinton and his presidency and an apologetic view of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.[citation needed] It was released prior to the scandal so any resemblance is unintentional. The film does, however, share some parallels to Clinton's presidency, although there are numerous differences. While Clinton had sexual relations with the young Monica Lewinsky, the widowed Shepherd dates another single adult his age. William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...
While working as an intern at the White House, Monica Lewinsky had a short-term sexual relationship with President Bill Clinton. ...
Monica Lewinsky on her U.S. Government ID Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973 in San Francisco) is an American woman who had an affair with President Bill Clinton, while she was working at the White House in 1995-6. ...
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 Shepherd due to the realities of American politics. Look up liberal on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Liberal may refer to: Politics: Liberalism American liberalism, a political trend in the USA Political progressivism, a political ideology that is for change, often associated with liberal movements Liberty, the condition of being free from control or restrictions Liberal Party, members of...
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. In addition, the Oval Office set was also used for the film Nixon. Sorkin was accused of lifting ideas from an earlier screenplay by William Richert, which was denied by the WGA. Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born on June 9, 1961 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. ...
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. ...
North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. ...
The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States, in the West Wing of the White House, built in 1909. ...
Nixon is an Oliver Stone film that tells the story of the political and personal life of former President Richard Nixon. ...
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and television industries in the United States. ...
One of the issues touched on in the film and developed in the series is the tendency of Democratic governments to pass "weak" gun control bills that actually do little good, developed in "Five Votes Down". The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ...
Five Votes Down is the 4th episode of The West Wing. ...
More significant is the issue of a "proportional response" to military attacks on American assets abroad. In The American President, Andrew Shepherd finds himself in the Situation Room having to order such an attack. He muses for a single line "Someday, someone's gonna have to explain to me the virtue of a proportional response", before giving the order. White House Situation Room in March 2003. ...
In "A Proportional Response", President Bartlet finds himself in similar circumstances but refuses to agree to a proportional response, ordering the National Security Council (NSC) to come up with a "disproportionate response". Throughout the episode the virtues of the proportional response are debated between Bartlet on the one hand, angry that America can't protect its citizens abroad, and favoring responding with "total disaster", and his Chief of Staff Leo McGarry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff and NSC on the other side, favoring responsible use of military force and conventional military wisdom. A Proportional Response is the 3rd episode of The West Wing. ...
Josiah Edward Jed Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
This article or section may need to be cleaned up and rewritten because it describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. ...
Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is a grouping comprising the Chiefs of service of each major branch of the armed services in the United States armed forces. ...
In The American President, Sydney Ellen Wade is ultimately fired from her lobbyist position because the president has brokered a deal between her company and the government, effectively buying them out. Similarly, in the final episode of the third season of The West Wing, Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman uses the same tactic and ends up getting Amy Gardner fired from her position at the Women's Leadership Conference. Josh and Amy are dating when this takes place, just as the main characters are here. Joshua Josh Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. ...
Amelia Amy Gardner is the fictional Director of Legislative Affairs in the Matt Santos administration and a womens rights activist on The West Wing. ...
Several actors reappear in The West Wing, including Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally, Joshua Malina as White House Communications Director Will Bailey, Nina Siemaszko as Ellie Bartlet, and Thom Barry as Congressman Mark Richardson. Martin Sheen Martin Sheen (born Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez August 3, 1940 in Dayton, Ohio) is an American actor, best known for his roles in the film Apocalypse Now and, most recently, as President Josiah Bartlet on the television drama The West Wing. ...
Josiah Edward Jed Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. ...
Anna Deavere Smith as Nancy McNally in an episode of The West Wing Anna Deavere Smith (born September 18, 1950, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American actress, playwright, and professor in the Department of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. ...
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues. ...
Anna Deavere Smith as Nancy McNally in the episode The Women Of Qumar Dr. Nancy McNally is the fictional National Security Advisor to President Josiah Bartlet on the television series The West Wing, played by Anna Deavere Smith. ...
Joshua Malina Joshua Malina (born 17 January 1966) is a Jewish-American film and stage actor. ...
The White House Communications Director is responsible for developing and promoting the voice of the administration. ...
William Will Bailey, is a fictional character played by Joshua Malina on the television serial drama The West Wing, holding various posts in the White House Department of Communications. ...
Nina Siemaszko (b. ...
It should be noted that in The American President, the political aspects are plot devices to heighten the effectiveness of the romantic comedy elements that drive the film, whereas politics serve as more of the primary focus for The West Wing, which is more of a character drama. A plot device is a person or an object introduced to a story to affect or advance the plot. ...
Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. ...
Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...
Rights The film was mainly a production of Castle Rock Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as a silent partner. Universal distributed the film internationally outside the U.S. while Columbia Pictures handled domestic distribution on behalf of Castle Rock. After Time Warner's acquistion of Turner (which owned Castle Rock), the film became part of the Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment library, although it is technically held by Turner while Warner Bros. is responsible for sales and distribuion, and Columbia continued to hold US distribution rights until 1999. Meanwhile, Universal continues to hold the international rights. Warner Bros. ...
Turner Entertainment Company was established August 4, 1986 to oversee Turner Broadcastings film library after its acquisition of MGM/UA. In addition to the studio, Turner got its library, which included all of MGMs films, Warner Bros. ...
Political issues Many political topics are touched on in this film, including: The historic Blue Marble photograph, which helped bring environmentalism to the public eye. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Gun politics. ...
The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is a non_governmental organization devoted to defending civil rights and civil liberties in the United States. ...
Flag desecration is a blanket term applied to various ways of intentionally defacing or dishonoring a flag, most often a national flag (though other flags are defaced as well). ...
A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ...
See also Dave is a 1993 comedy movie written by Gary Ross, directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Kline (in a dual role), Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, and Laura Linney. ...
A Few Good Men, a play by Aaron Sorkin, was acclaimed on Broadway and was subsequently made into a successful film in 1992. ...
This article is about the American television series. ...
The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. ...
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