Patriotic Philms Phor the 4th – #1 of 10 – Dave (1993) – Encore Review 2

In order to celebrate the 245th birthday of the US, I decided to watch 10 films over the weekend that are related to the patriotism of the founding fathers and of Americans on a whole. On Monday, I will culminate this series with something connected to a very special project that I have been working on over the past few months… stay tuned…

“Why couldn’t you die from a stroke like everyone else? ” – Ellen Mitchell

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (in the theater, video, cable, DVD, 21 May 2013, 21 Aug 2018 and 1 Jul 2021)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – A ‘double’ for the President is recruited to take the place of the real Chief Executive following a debilitating stroke.

My Take on it – Hilarious film that works so well.

Kevin Kline is superb in the title role and helps give a nice spin to the positive aspects of politics.

This is a film that I have loved ever since I first saw it in the theater nearly 30 years ago and it never stops being so enjoyable to watch.

The supporting cast is also great with Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Charles Grodin, Ben Kingsley and Ving Rhames all helping to keep things so informative and engaging throughout.

The music by James Newton Howard enhances the film even more because it feels so much more patriotic thru this piece of music.

The amount of cameos by real politicians and public figures helps try to give the story a more realistic feel to it and it really succeeds in doing so.

The films is able to blend together some dramatic and comedic themes that help keep things so much fun and poignant at the same time.

Kline still remains IMHO one of the very best fictional Presidents put to screen.

Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were big fans of this movie. Clinton gave screenwriter Gary Ross a framed copy of the script, which Clinton had autographed, writing that it was a “funny, often accurate lampooning of politics.” Clinton also gave Ross a picture of himself holding a “Dave” mug. Obama told Kevin Kline, “I love watching the movie when I’m depressed because you make the job of President look so fun and so easy.” (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10) (no change from original review)