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It is hard to make a good love story, harder to make a good comedy and harder still to make an intelligent film about politics. Rob Reiner's "The American President" cheerfully does all three, and is a great entertainment - one of those films, like " Forrest Gump " or " Apollo 13 ," that however briefly unites the audience in a reprise of the American dream.

The movie is, above all, a witty and warm romance. The president of the United States, Andrew Shepherd ( Michael Douglas ) has been a widower for several years. One day, he meets an environmental lobbyist, newly arrived in Washington, named Sydney Ellen Wade ( Annette Bening ). For him, there is a powerful attraction at first sight, and he asks one of his aides what the reaction might be if he asked her to be his companion at a state dinner.

The aide asks if he should have a pollster "put together some numbers." But that is precisely the impulse the president is struggling against: the need to measure every action by how it will "play." Shepherd gets her number from the FBI, picks up the phone and calls Sydney - who cannot believe it is really the president, because she has just moved in with her sister and has no phone of her own.

She hangs up. The president calls back. Convinced she is talking to a prankster, she compliments him on his "great - - -." Because both Douglas and Bening are believable in their roles, and because the power and bureaucracy of the White House already have been credibly established in the opening scenes, this moment works not as sit-com but as explosive comedy. Comedy, after all, is a release of tension, and by making the key players both realistic and sympathetic, and then erecting the monumental barrier of the modern presidency between them, the movie creates real stakes: We care, and find ourselves caring throughout the film, whether they will be happy together.

Many of the film's big laughs come from the president's difficulties in doing simple things in ordinary ways. He doesn't want his staff to handle personal matters. But how can he order flowers over the telephone when his credit cards "are in storage with your other stuff in Wisconsin"? How can he bring a date home when the White House is ringed by breathless tabloid reporters? And what about Sydney, a serious career woman, who is told by her boss ( John Mahoney ), "The time it will take you to go from presidential girlfriend to cocktail party joke can be measured on an egg timer." The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin keeps three elements in tension all during the movie. One is the personal relationship between Shepherd and Wade. Another involves her job, as a lobbyist for an environmental group that needs key votes to pass a crucial fuel bill.

The third is the situation inside the White House, where Shepherd, a liberal, faces an election-year challenge from a powerful conservative ( Richard Dreyfuss ) and is trying to get a controversial crime bill passed.

In a standard Hollywood production, the political aspects would be papered over with vague generic terms, and indeed the president probably would not be identified by ideology. What's admirable about "The American President" is that real issues - gun control, the environment - are handled realistically, in a series of subplots leading up to a presidential press conference that has a certain resonance even in the current political climate. (The liberal Shepherd learns that he must be decisive and take unpopular stands.) The movie's center is of course the love story, and Douglas and Bening have remarkable chemistry; their scenes are written and played in a way that develops the comedy without sacrificing the notion that two such people might very likely find themselves in similar situations. The inevitable strategic questions (like whether the power of "the most powerful man in the free world" extends to his bedside prowess) are part of the general embarrassment that both feel because the presidency, in a sense, comes between them.

Douglas has specialized recently in more overtly sexual roles, as in " Disclosure ," where he seemed like the hapless instrument of the plot. Here he seems so much more three-dimensional, more vulnerable, smarter, more likable. And Bening is simply luminous; I had hoped to conduct my career as a film critic without ever once writing that a smile "illuminates the screen," but something very like that happens here. Looking around, I noticed the audience smiling back.

Surrounding Douglas and Bening is a superb supporting cast: Martin Sheen is the president's right-hand man, Michael J. Fox is his ideological conscience, Anna Deavere Smith is his press secretary, David Paymer is a pollster. (His name, Kodak, suggests his snapshots of the national mood, just as Shepherd is an evocative name for a president.) Shawna Waldron plays the president's pre-teen daughter, whose role is as intelligently written and played as everyone else's.

Among the many emotions that "The American President" re-awakens, one of the best is simple affection for the presidency.

When I was growing up, "thepresidentoftheUnitedStates" was one word, said reverently, and embodied great power and virtue. Now the title is like the butt of a joke; both parties have lessened the office by their potshots at its occupants. Reiner suggests the moral weight of the presidency while at the same time incorporating much of the inside information we now have about the way the White House functions.

Watching "The American President," I felt respect for the craft that went into it: the flawless re-creation of the physical world of the White House, the smart and accurate dialogue, the manipulation of the love story to tug our heartstrings. It is also a film with a liberal political point of view, and that takes nerve; it would have been easier to create an Identikit president with manufactured issues. This is a great entertainment - one of the year's best films.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The American President (1995)

Rated PG-13 For Some Strong Language

115 minutes

Anna Deavere Smith as Robin McCall

Michael Douglas as Andrew Shepherd

Martin Sheen as A. J. MacInerney

Annette Bening as Sydney Ellen Wade

Michael J. Fox as Lewis Rothschild

Richard Dreyfuss as Sen. Rumson

John Mahoney as Leo Solomon

Aaron Sorkin

Produced and Directed by

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The American President Reviews

What makes both Douglas's president and the movie itself victorious classics is the combination of edge and enchantment.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 6, 2020

When the focus is on romantic comedy, the film is breezy and amusing; but when it switches to dramas involving fundraising and campaigning, it grows stickier.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 9, 2020

Despite lapses into sentimental corn-notably in scenes with the president's 12-year-old daughter-director Rob Reiner has crafted a whimsical fable that packs a deceptive punch.

Full Review | Oct 15, 2019

My favorite Sorkin film. Great script and wonderful chemistry between the leads

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 8, 2019

Filmmaker Rob Reiner has infused The American President with a breezy, compulsively watchable feel that's perpetuated and heightened by the stars' winning performances...

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 3, 2018

A genial and glossy middle-brow rom/com blended together with corny Capra-like political drama.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Sep 27, 2015

Light, fluffy romantic comedy, well acted by Michael Douglas.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | May 4, 2011

Witty, wise, and idealized political romance.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 18, 2010

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 12, 2008

Part romantic comedy, part Capra-corny political drama, this movie exudes so much sympathy, it sweats.

Full Review | Jun 24, 2006

A potentially good adult romance is undone by a preachy left-wing agenda.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 8, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 1, 2005

Sorkin starts his West Wing warm-up with a winning political rom-com.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 3, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 26, 2004

Glorious romantic comedy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 7, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 4, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 28, 2004

Predictable and PC, but fun.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 3, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 15, 2003

Good romantic comedy. Some funny irreverence about the White House, and a well-meaning political message.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 14, 2003

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The american president, common sense media reviewers.

Witty, wise, and idealized political romance.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Andrew faces some challenges, but in the end does

In one scene Sydney is dressed only in a robe. She

"F--k" is said once, and "s--t&quot

Some drinking, but not to excess.

Positive Messages

Andrew faces some challenges, but in the end does what's right. Sydney is a great model of a powerful and compassionate woman.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

In one scene Sydney is dressed only in a robe. She and Andrew have sex on the second date (nothing graphic is shown). Brief kissing, but nothing explicit.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"F--k" is said once, and "s--t" twice.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Sydney and Andrew (both unmarried) sleep together on their second date. Andrew's wife died of cancer, leaving him to raise his daughter alone, which may sadden teens who've lost a parent. There's some minimal cursing, and political rival Robert Rumson is quick to accuse Sydney of being a slut on national television. There's a lot of potential for mean-spirited digs in this film, and some of them are taken, but mostly it's an uplifting romantic comedy in which the president learns to stand up for what he believes in rather than sticking to what makes him popular. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

Parents say (5)
Kids say (2)

Based on 5 parent reviews

One of my all time favorite movies!

Warning the commonsense ratings are inaccurate, what's the story.

It's hard to imagine a world in which an American president is single and dating, let alone standing up for what he believes in the face of downward-spiraling polls before an election year. But that's the world viewers get to escape to in this romantic comedy. It's three years into Andrew Shepard's ( Michael Douglas ) first term, and he's never been more popular or more ready for re-election. All is well until star lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade ( Annette Bening ) comes into the picture. The couple starts dating, and soon they have to face some hard realities. Can their relationship stand up to constant rumors and innuendo proffered by Andrew's opponent, Robert Rumson ( Richard Dreyfuss )? And can Andrew keep his promise to Sydney when his approval rating slips?

Is It Any Good?

This is a delightful romantic comedy. Viewers of all ages will likely be able to relate to the president's conflict -- especially when it's resolved with the help of great dialogue from Aaron Sorkin, who went on to write The West Wing .

Romantics will love Andrew's decision and the goofy way the president behaves around Sydney. For girls, Sydney provides a great model of how to be a strong, compassionate, and powerful woman.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the similarities between the behaviors of the characters in the movie and kids in high school: the mean-spirited gossip, the flirting, the struggle between being cool and having integrity. Has anyone in your family faced these challenges? How did you decide what to do? What would you have done if you were in Andrew's shoes, or in Sydney's?

Movie Details

In theaters : October 2, 1995
On DVD or streaming : August 31, 1999
Cast : Annette Bening , Michael Douglas , Michael J. Fox
Director : Rob Reiner
Inclusion Information : Female actors
Studio : Castle Rock Entertainment
Genre : Comedy
Run time : 115 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : sexual content and thematic intensity.
Last updated : June 1, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Bob Roberts

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

The American President : A Most Optimistic Rom-Com

Sure, Aaron Sorkin’s movie is a boy-meets-girl romance. But it also insists on a love story between government and the governed.

President Andrew Shepherd: Sydney, I didn’t decide to send 455 to the floor to get you back. Sydney Ellen Wade: I didn’t come back ‘cause you decided to send 455 to the floor.

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America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say, You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the “land of the free.”

The American President Review

08 Dec 1995

120 minutes

American President, The

The formerly unimpeachable Rob Reiner may have come a cropper with the ill-conceived and deservedly ignored North, but there's no doubting he's back on track with this. It's a commercial offering with classy performances, snappy, intelligent writing, and good old-fashioned romance turned up to 11. It's easily his best film since When Harry Met Sally, even if it requires the audience to accept the notion of an American president being the embodiment of wholesome, moral valued Americana. But, heck, it's the movies.

The plot is simple. Widowed US premiere Andrew Shepherd (Douglas) enjoys glowing public support and ribbing his fraught White House staff, then, at a meeting with an ecological lobby group, he is confronted with sassy, plain talking, lovely Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening). The result is love, and a series of wonderful set-pieces as the president has to convince a sceptical Wade he's actually asking her out on a date - albeit to a White House banquet for the new president of France.

As romance blossoms with convincing sparkle between the politically opposed couple, events are complicated, naturally enough, by politics. Being the president and falling in love proves no easy combination. A debut clinch is rudely interrupted when the Libyans bomb Israel, and as Shepherd's political opponent (a smarmy Republican Richard Dreyfuss cameo) starts to attack Sydney for political gain and his popularity slips, the wheels and deals of modern politics threaten to ruin everything, leaving time for Shepherd's knock-'em-dead rallying call and the throat-thickening happy ending.

Of course it's hokey and silly, but Reiner really knows how to skirt potential schmaltz and there is a political backbone to the piece which gives it reassuring depth. Scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin has done a polished job of injecting a viewpoint without letting it dominate, or have the political vernacular suffocate the comedy. And the performances Reiner has elicited from the cast are uniformly terrific: Sheen's calm, guiding right hand man, Fox's flustering spin doctor are stand-outs. The film, however, belongs to Douglas and Bening with two marvellously straight performances without psychotics or emotional blow-outs, giving the most credible couple of the year. Oscar's have gone to worse pretenders.

Movies | 05 02 2018

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The American President

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Imagine the hooker played by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman asking Richard Gere, her millionaire prince charming, to put some of his megabucks into saving the environment and getting handguns off the street. Actually you don’t have to imagine it — you can see The American President, an exuberant romantic comedy packing an uneasy political agenda. With an election year ahead, director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin have decided to spice their bonbon with some liberal drumbeating.

Michael Douglas, looking cannily Clintonesque, plays the widowed President Andrew Shepherd, a pragmatist who hasn’t exactly kept all his promises to the fed-up folks who got him elected. Although the prez enjoys being daddy to 12-year-old Lucy (Shawna Waldron), he is lonely and, frankly, horny. The babe who catches his eye is Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). Sydney is not a hooker, exactly — she’s a lobbyist — but we’re talking semantics here. The prez walks in on a meeting just as Sydney is mocking his environmental leadership and calling him “the chief executive of fantasyland.” She is humiliated; he likes her spirit.

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It’s a revamped Cinderella story with power as the aphrodisiac, and Douglas and Bening play it to the classy hilt. The courtship scenes in the film’s lighter, more deft first half have the bounce of a moonstruck fable. Reiner, with invaluable help from production designer Lilly Kilvert and cinematographer John Seale, turns the White House into an enchanted castle. Sydney’s pit-bull defenses melt into prom-queen wonder when the president asks her to dance at a state dinner. Not since Roberts’ pretty woman got to shop on Rodeo Drive with her prince’s charge card have audiences had such a rush of wish fulfillment. Sorkin also gets much comic mileage out of the protocol of dating the leader of the free world. There’s the fuss made by all the president’s men — including Martin Sheen (the chief of staff), David Paymer (a pollster) and Michael J. Fox (a domestic adviser), who does a spin on George Stephanopoulos — and the president’s women, including Anna Deavere Smith (the press secretary) and Samantha Mathis (a personal aide). There is even a villain; not Bob Dole but Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), the senator who makes a self-serving conservative stink about the prez sneaking the hired gun of an ultraliberal action committee into his bedroom while his daughter sleeps down the hall.

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Reiner sparks a large and resourceful cast. This is Bening’s best role in years, and she brings to Sydney a crinkly eyed charm that doesn’t compromise her intelligence. Douglas’ brash humor makes the president most appealing when he is most helpless — ordering flowers, calling for a date, or telling a woman and a nation he was wrong. He also brings conviction to the climactic gun-control speech, meant to show — in Frank Capra fashion — that love can lead a statesman back to his principles. But the speeches belong in another forum. The American President finds more magic and fun when it stays focused on the chief executive of fantasyland.

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The American President

Time out says, release details.

Duration: 113 mins

Cast and crew

Director: Rob Reiner
Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin
Michael Douglas
Annette Bening
Michael J Fox
Martin Sheen
Richard Dreyfuss
David Paymer
Anna Deavere Smith

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Friday 27 September 2013

Movie review: the american president (1995).

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American President, The (United States, 1995)

It's hard to believe that The American President was made by the same man responsible for the no-holds-barred satire of This Is Spinal Tap . Is there any element of American culture more ripe for the humorist's razor-sharp wit than presidential politics? Yet, heedless of what it might have been, this film is content to hunker down in the valley of feel-good entertainment, sacrificing intelligent plotting for mass appeal. While neither bad nor unwatchable, The American President is nevertheless the second straight disappointment from director Rob Reiner (his previous effort being North ).

Attempting to mix behind-the-scenes Washington machinations, political rhetoric, and a love story, Aaron Sorkin's script ends up shortchanging all of its elements. It comes across as painfully politically correct, offering trite sermons on various "hot-button" issues (gun control and the greenhouse effect). The narrative follows an unwavering by-the-numbers strategy with an ending that echoes the "cornball" of Al Pacino's climactic Scent of a Woman speech.

The setting is contemporary Washington DC. It's an election year, and the incumbent Democratic President, Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), is counting on his much-ballyhooed crime bill to cinch the result of the upcoming political struggle. His approval rating is already astronomically high (63%), and his "family values" opponent, Senate Minority Leader Robert Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), is floundering. He can't bring up the so-called "character issue", because Shepherd is a widower with a young daughter, and political experts say that personal attacks will have a disastrous backlash. So Rumson bides his time, waiting for the President to make a mistake. Which, of course, he does.

That mistake comes in the person of Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), who represents the Global Defense Council. Not only does she attract Shepherd's support for a pro-environment bill, but she catches his eye as well. He asks her to accompany him to an official State dinner, and the next morning all the papers are calling her the "President's girlfriend". What follows is a variation on the tried-but-true story of boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy tries to get girl back again. The only real difference here is that the romance takes place in and around the White House.

Sorkin, who wrote A Few Good Men (which Reiner also directed), has sprinkled the screenplay with understated humor and sparkling dialogue, but the clever lines and amusing vignettes can't fully overcome the plot's essential mediocrity. The set design is very good -- attention to detail is such that it's easy to accept that all the action takes place within the most securely-guarded residence in the United States.

The cast is solid, with Michael Douglas doing a credible job as the Commander-in-Chief, Annette Bening being alternately winsome and tough, and Martin Sheen offering hard advice as the Chief of Staff. Michael J. Fox does a believable George Stephanopoulos-type and Shawna Waldron is appealing as the President's daughter. Only Richard Dreyfuss, whose one-note bad guy grates, doesn't do much with his character.

The American President wants to be a fantasy -- Shepherd is far too good to be true -- yet it keeps trying to ground itself in a "Clintonesque" faux reality, creating a noticeable conflict in tone. And, unlike Dave , this film doesn't offer anything really biting. Sure, it's likable (which Dave was, as well), but it's also bland. All things considered, The American President is probably going to find it difficult campaigning against the likes of Goldeneye and Casino .

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The 20 Best Movies About American Presidents

This article was originally on November 6, 2018 and is being republished for Presidents’ Day.

One aspect of all movies about real-life presidents — an aspect one worries future films will not share — is a reverence for the office of the president. Every aspect of a human being’s life, whether it’s before, during, or after his time in the White House, is filtered through that lens: This person once held the most powerful office in the world . Everything else they do seems more important, more magnified: We look for insight into their soul in the most mundane, and least mundane, of life’s tasks. Their whole life becomes an origin story.

Again, this feels like it will all change because of our recent situation. How reverential can anyone find the job after this? But that’s the one thing these movies about real-life presidents have in common: the importance of the office contrasted with the basic humanity of the officeholder. Not every president featured in these films is a great man. But they are all Large Men, men of import and power. That’s probably going to change in 20 years.

One rule about this list: We didn’t include documentaries. (Sorry, Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains . ) This is a look at fictionalized characterizations of real-life presidents, for better and, often, worse.

20. Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

Bill Murray seemed to be trying for an Oscar with his portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but he sure picked the wrong vehicle here, a groaner of a “whimsical” historical drama in which FDR is a decent but flawed man who pauses from the responsibilities of the office occasionally to get hand jobs from Laura Linney. (The scene in which this happens will haunt your memories for years.) Murray isn’t bad, exactly, but he’s playing a cartoon, and the movie doesn’t cut much deeper. This is a movie that needed a lot more thought put into it — though if they had thought all that hard, they probably wouldn’t have made it at all.

19. The Better Angels (2014)

Produced by Terrence Malick, The Better Angels cast newcomer Braydon Denney as a young Abraham Lincoln living in Indiana with his mom (Brit Marling) and dad (Jason Clarke). Writer-director A.J. Edwards (who served as an editor on To the Wonder and Knight of Cups ) gives the proceedings an ethereal Malick-ian glow. The camera swirls and glides over the actors, and the black-and-white imagery is gorgeous, but The Better Angels reduces the characters to mythic abstractions. (Lincoln’s father is stoic. His mother is angelic.) There’s no saying filmmakers can’t create impressionistic portraits of famous figures, but this one drifts away so lazily that there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly pertinent to Lincoln’s legacy or impact in its making.

18. LBJ (2017)

What if you’d always wanted to be president, only to find out that the only way you’d become commander-in-chief is by taking over for a beloved POTUS who’d just been tragically murdered? Rob Reiner’s LBJ uses that as its provocative hook, casting Woody Harrelson as Lyndon Baines Johnson, a gruff, ambitious politician who failed to win the White House in his own right, settling to be vice-president to the charismatic but distant John F. Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan). Harrelson’s barreling, vulnerable performance tries to show the wounded outsider within Johnson — an uncouth Texan out of step with the snobby East Coast Kennedy brothers — and the film builds tension as we watch LBJ become president and work to pass JFK’s monumental civil-rights bill. But LBJ ’s blandness outshines everything else. This movie feels like a missed opportunity — and a further indication of Reiner’s waning powers .

17. Elvis & Nixon (2016)

Much of the prerelease buzz revolved around Michael Shannon’s wild interpretation of Elvis Presley, but now it’s hard not to watch Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon and feel … well, pretty gross about the both of them, to be honest. Spacey’s Nixon isn’t so much evil as he is pathetic, and the movie’s attempt to play the notorious meeting between Nixon and Presley as farce is a balancing act it can’t quite pull off. The Presley story here is a lot more interesting, and Spacey mostly seems to be doing an impersonation rather than an incarnation. Not really worth the effort or time.

16. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Dopey and certainly bad for you — but, if you’re in the right mood, also wonderfully bonkers — this action flick hoped to cash in on the “historic figures or books, but with horror!” wave that also included Pride and Prejudice and Zombies . Adapting Zombies novelist Seth Grahame-Smith’s book, which reimagined our 16th president as a kick-ass vampire slayer, director Timur Bekmambetov overdoes the gloomy grandeur and violent kill sequences. But there’s a charm to the sheer ludicrousness of the proceedings, especially thanks to Benjamin Walker, who plays Honest Abe with such reverence that you get sucked into the film’s goofy, silly-serious tone. Not surprisingly, Vampire Hunter was a commercial disappointment, but its cheesy gusto makes it perfect Sunday-afternoon cable viewing.

15. Jefferson in Paris (1995)

The film that ended Merchant-Ivory’s run of critical and commercial art-house hits, Jefferson in Paris is a muddled drama that’s not without some intriguing ideas rustling around inside it. Looking at Thomas Jefferson’s tenure as American ambassador to France a couple of decades before his presidency, the movie draws from two romances he pursued at the time: with the painter Maria Cosway (Greta Scacchi) and his slave Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton). As played by Nick Nolte, the Jefferson we meet is a man who’s lost, grieving a dead wife while trying to keep his nascent nation together, a storytelling perspective that offers some insights into the secret self-doubts of our Founding Fathers. But Jefferson in Paris never quite succeeds as either a character study or a love story.

14. Barry (2016)

An origin story of sorts that shows the formative years of Barack Obama, Barry follows our 44th president as a college student (played by Devon Terrell) in New York trying to find his footing in the big city. There’s a love story at Barry ’s center — Anya Taylor-Joy plays one of his classmates — but director Vikram Gandhi is more interested in Obama’s search to find himself as he tries to come to terms with not feeling wholly comfortable with either white students or black friends. There’s a genuine attempt to strip away Obama’s mythic persona — the real man was getting ready to wind down his time in the Oval Office at the time of the movie’s release — but Barry suffers a bit because it doesn’t have quite enough distance or perspective to really offer a compelling take on the transformative politician. It will be interesting to rewatch Barry down the road: In several ways, the movie is less about Obama than it is our relationship to a president who seemed to be too good to be true — and seems even more that way now.

13. The Butler (2013)

This is the slightly cuckoo, slightly reverent Lee Daniels movie about a White House butler (Forest Whitaker) who serves multiple generations of presidents and attempts to raise a family (with wife Oprah Winfrey and son David Oyelowo; this movie does not lack a pedigree, that’s for sure) through a particularly combustible period in our nation’s history. The movie moves along well enough but, oddly, screeches to a halt every time we meet a president played by a famous actor who doesn’t so much inhabit the real-life figure as wave bemusedly behind his mask. Robin Williams’s Eisenhower and John Cusack’s Richard Nixon are both just strange, but there’s a little more going on with Alan Rickman’s Ronald Reagan (with Jane Fonda as Nancy!). A whole movie with Rickman as Reagan might have been onto something.

12. Dick (1999)

This goofy comedy sees the Watergate scandal through the eyes of two silly but smarter-than-they-look teenagers (Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst), and it works better as a comedy than any sort of real-life commentary. Dan Hedaya’s Nixon is adequately buffoonish and paranoid, but he’s just sort of passing through his own film; Williams and Dunst, happily, are the real stars. Also the real stars: some truly inspired down-credit casting, from Dave Foley as Haldeman, Harry Shearer as G. Gordon Liddy, Jim Breuer as John Dean, and, amazingly, Will Ferrell and Bruce McCulloch as Woodward and Bernstein, a couple of doofuses who have no idea what’s going on but do very much love being on television.

11. Southside With You (2016)

The first of two Obama portraits to emerge in the final year of his presidency, Southside With You imagines how the future president’s first date with Michelle Robinson played out. Sort of a Before Sunrise –like romantic drama, writer-director Richard Tanne’s feature debut benefits from some pretty stellar casting in the form of Parker Sawyers’s reticent, charming Barack and Tika Sumpter’s strong-willed Michelle. There’s an undeniable amount of wish-fulfillment going on here: Southside With You is what we want to think it was like when these two lovebirds first went out, two bright people with their whole lives ahead of them. Tanne sometimes stumbles trying to bring significance to their date, which is why the movie works best when we’re just hanging out with likable characters getting to know one another. History can wait.

10. PT 109 (1963)

This dramatization of John F. Kennedy’s heroics during World War II was accused of hagiography when it was released, five months before Kennedy was shot in Dallas. Watched today, it basically treats JFK as heroic as just about every other movie of the last 50-plus years has, only as a younger man. (Although it should be noted that Cliff Robertson was almost two decades older than Kennedy was when he played him.) The movie was made under the prowess of Kennedy’s father — who had once been a film executive — so JFK is made to look like the very best of humanity, but that seems like more of a problem for June 1963, when it was released, than, say, December 1963. The movie is straightforward and perfectly pleasantly made. If it weren’t about a president, you wouldn’t notice, and you wouldn’t mind: You’d like it just the same.

9. Thirteen Days (2000)

2017’s Oscar-nominated Darkest Hour told of one of Winston Churchill’s most trying moments as he faced down Germany, and Thirteen Days does something similar for John F. Kennedy, tracing the tense weeks during the Cuban Missile Crisis showdown with the Soviet Union. Bruce Greenwood plays JFK as a distant, complicated, hesitant figure, but the film is actually told from the perspective of his trusted adviser Kenneth O’Donnell (Kevin Costner). Directed by Roger Donaldson with a minimum of fuss, Thirteen Days emphasizes strategy, debate, deliberation, and anguished choices — it’s a film where the electricity comes from ideas and dialogue. As such, the film has the appeal and limitations of a well-mounted play, but the actors (including Steven Culp as Bobby Kennedy and Dylan Baker as Robert McNamara) dig into the screenplay’s bare-bones, life-or-death drama.

8. W. (2008)

It would be easy to assume that Oliver Stone, liberal firebrand, would eviscerate George W. Bush in his biopic. Shockingly, W. mostly pities a man who, according to the film, simply wasn’t equipped for the life that fate had in store for him. Josh Brolin plays Dubya as a good-natured underachiever who, after becoming a born-again Christian, decides he wants to do something meaningful. The movie undoubtedly lays the wood on several in Bush’s inner circle — Thandie Newton’s impression of Condoleezza Rice is particularly mean — as W. ponders what happens when a useful idiot falls under the sway of warmongers with bad intel. Stone makes a compelling argument that, deep down, Bush never really wanted to be president — if he’d stayed in Major League Baseball, he might have been happier — and yet, the whole world had to pay for his misreading of his talent and skills. Neither damning nor satiric, W. is oddly wistful, almost regretful — rare sentiments in a Stone film.

7. Amistad (1997)

Yet another movie in which white lawyers end up saving the day for their black clients, this one at least has a focused, earnest Steven Spielberg and a hammy, sort of glorious Anthony Hopkins playing John Quincy Adams, the former president who comes out of retirement to argue for the citizenship of a boat full of slaves in transit from Africa. This is Spielberg trying to do for slavery what Schindler’s List did for the Holocaust, but, obviously, this subject isn’t as firmly in his wheelhouse; the subject would be handled infinitely better by black filmmakers years later. But the Adams scenes have an extra kick: You never forget you’re listening to a president, using his powers for the ultimate good.

6. Primary Colors (1998)

The timing of the Primary Colors film couldn’t have been better: The Lewinsky scandal broke two months before the movie’s release, so its story of a smart, well-intentioned presidential candidate whose excesses wouldn’t allow him to get out of his own way felt particularly resonant. (Though it didn’t help the film make a profit.) This was John Travolta at the peak of his powers, and his Clinton (or “Clinton,” wink, wink) oozes charisma while remaining slippery: It really does feel like Bill. Emma Thompson is kinder to Hillary than the next two decades would be, and the movie feels both of the moment and quaint today … neither of which is a bad thing. Plus, Kathy Bates’s terrific performance reminds us of why we all believed in the Clintons … and how they ultimately let us all down.

5. Frost/Nixon (2008)

Ron Howard’s ticktock of how British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) got an out-of-office and exiled Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) not only on his television show but to confess to his crimes is smart, linear filmmaking, what you’d expect from Howard, but not much more. It’s still particularly striking to watch it today, considering its big revelation — Nixon confessing — has basically happened already with our current president with Lester Holt, and it didn’t make a lick of difference. The movie, despite its mod fashion and sideburns, doesn’t make you nostalgic for the ’70s; it makes you nostalgic for 2008.

4. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Your basic superhero origin story, except this time the superhero is Abraham Lincoln and his superpower is discovering that he is, in fact, Abraham Lincoln. John Ford directed this courtroom thriller in which young Abe (played by Henry Fonda, who was 34 at the time) defends innocent brothers accused of murder, and the movie actually isn’t that much more ambitious than that: It’s more of a dry run for Perry Mason than Oliver Stone. But as a courtroom thriller, it works, and the basic human decency of Fonda-as-Lincoln would be a model for hundreds of movies about lawyers and decent politicians alike.

3. Secret Honor (1984)

Richard Nixon was reportedly a big M*A*S*H fan, but it’s safe to assume that Robert Altman didn’t feel as warmly about him. And yet, with Secret Honor (based on the play by Donald Freed and Arnold M. Stone), the director seemed to understand something elemental about the disgraced president. Played by Philip Baker Hall, Nixon is alone on screen for 90 minutes, roaming around his study recounting his failures and disappointments. It’s tempting to view the ex-president as a stand-in for Altman, who at that point of his career was a commercial pariah who seemingly had lost the plot. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, Secret Honor is an unremittingly bitter and vengeful piece of work — the Nixon we meet doesn’t want our sympathy, but he’s more than willing to lay into his critics, desperately hoping to correct the record. As a piece of cinema, this is an inherently stagy, talky film, but it’s so liberatingly angry that it’s explosive — especially during its blistering final moments.

2. Nixon (1995)

Cinema has no shortage of movies about monstrously ambitious American men who reach great heights, only to be undone by the same insecurities and failings that fueled their drive in the first place. A lower rung from Citizen Kane and There Will Be Blood , Nixon is all the more compelling because of the filmmaker who conceived it. Oliver Stone isn’t the sort of guy you’d picture as a Richard Nixon apologist, but even though he depicts our 37th president as an unsavory, power-hungry man, the JFK auteur also goes out of his way to explain what drove Nixon — namely, a sense of inadequacy that spurred him on throughout his life. Anthony Hopkins doesn’t look so much like Nixon, but he embodies him, and the looming shadow of the Watergate investigation that dominates Nixon ’s last third is both riveting and sickening — you can feel the sense of doom slowly enveloping a politician who, at heart, was always a fatalist. You don’t walk away from Nixon with rosy feelings toward Tricky Dick, but you are swamped by the sense of the tragedy of his life — how his ego and anger and ambition could never ever transcend his self-doubt, no matter how much he hoped otherwise.

1. Lincoln (2012)

The genius of Spielberg’s Lincoln — and we do think it’s one of his best films — is that it doesn’t focus on Lincoln the leader, or the orator, or the hero, though it of course also contains all those things. Instead, the movie’s optimism comes from its faith in politics itself, as Lincoln grinds the gears of government to try to fundamentally change the world by cajoling and palm-greasing and, if that doesn’t work, actually appealing to hearts and minds and people’s fundamental goodness. Daniel Day-Lewis’s Lincoln is a massive figure, but he doesn’t play him that way: He is just a guy trying to do what he can, using the materials he has, to do what is right. It’s a movie that believes, truly, in the presidency and what it can achieve. One wonders if Spielberg still feels that way six years later.

Grierson & Leitch write about the movies regularly and host a podcast on film. Follow them on Twitter or visit their site .

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The 15 Best Movies About American Presidents You Should Watch

The president of the United States is perhaps the most influential position in the world, as their handling of American policy can define the course of history. The significance and uniqueness of this perspective have led to a number of films focused on the office and life of the president, depicting both real and fictional figures serving as commander in chief. Whether it be political thrillers examining abuses of absolute power or satirical comedies poking fun at the nature of presidential administrations, movies about American presidents have run the gamut of genre and tone.

There's always a special quality to presidential movies, with many actors turning in career-elevating performances while filmmakers craft acclaimed work in depicting the highest elected office in the land. With a multitude of movies about American presidents, here are the best, either focused on the presidents themselves or those exploring those presidential legacies that shake the country to its core.

The scandal-ridden Nixon administration is one of the more embarrassing periods of the American presidency, and the 1999 comedy "Dick" has lots of fun with the controversial world leader. After teenagers Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene Lorenzo (Michelle Williams) accidentally expose the Watergate break-in, Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya) personally hires the two girls to ensure their silence in the resulting investigation. As the two girls work among Nixon's inner circle, they gradually discover his true nature and decide to bring the morally unscrupulous president down with their insider knowledge.

"Dick" essentially reimagines the Watergate scandal as a teen comedy from the perspective of two young girls, playing the Nixon administration like buffoons. The filmmakers and Hedaya play Nixon as a paranoid and prejudiced goofball, outsmarted by those working inside the White House right under his nose. The blend of coming-of-age comedy and political thriller works well, lampooning the executive corruption at every turn to great effect.

Wag the Dog

Sometimes life truly does imitate art, and one key example of this is the 1997 political satire film "Wag the Dog," and its timing with subsequent scandals plaguing the Clinton administration. The movie has its fictional president involved in a sex scandal during the final stretch of his reelection campaign, prompting the administration to desperately search for a distraction. presidential aide Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) hires Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and professional spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) to fabricate a war in Albania to divert the press' attention.

"Wag the Dog" is a film that isn't afraid to go murderously dark with its satire, showing the lengths a president will go to stay in power, and how fickle the media's attention can be. The movie's all-star cast delivers strong performances and the comedy comes from a place that doesn't ever feel too detached from reality. The movie's message took on a prescient note when President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky became public the next month, followed by the administration bombing military targets in Sudan.

The Butler (2013)

Behind every president is an entire staff that helps make the executive branch possible. One consistent presence across multiple administrations was Eugene Allen, a butler who worked in the White House for decades. A facsimile of Allen is the subject of the 2013 historical drama "The Butler," starring Forest Whitaker as White House butler Cecil Gaines. Hired to work at the White House during the Eisenhower administration, Gaines serves multiple presidents before resigning during the Reagan administration.

Whitaker is joined by a stacked cast, with everyone from Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower to Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, as the film follows Gaines' life and career progress for much of the 20th century. However, the true standout really is Whitaker, who brings an understated humanity while Gaines works, cutting loose with the emotional drama of the butler's home life. A quiet examination of the White House and the presidents who inhabited it from the perspective of its noble and dedicated help, "The Butler" is an engaging tour of American history.

Thirteen Days

The biggest test the Kennedy administration ever faced was the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, nearly leading to nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. The events surrounding the crisis and its tense resolution are dramatized in the 2000 film "Thirteen Days," based on the 1997 book "The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow. Directed by Roger Donaldson, "Thirteen Days" plays out like a taut thriller, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance of the real-life historical event.

Bruce Greenwood stars as President John F. Kennedy, with Steven Culp playing the president's brother and U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy. As the two brothers negotiate with Soviet leadership to remove its nuclear missiles from Cuba to avert a world war, complications arise to heighten the immense tension. Tightly paced, the movie earned the seal of approval from Kennedy's Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara who, in an interview with PBS , called the film "very constructive and responsible" in its depiction.

Primary Colors

While politics comes with an allure of idealism and civic duty, the darker reality of the career path and the types of personalities it attracts is the subject of the 1998 comedy-drama "Primary Colors." Based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Joe Klein, the movie follows bright-eyed staffer Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) who works for presidential candidate Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta). Initially impressed by Stanton and his platform, Burton becomes disillusioned with the candidate and the political process the more he gets to know the governor.

A thinly veiled roman à clef of President Bill Clinton and his 1992 campaign for the presidency, "Primary Colors" is a biting end-of-innocence with political stakes. Venturing into decidedly dark comedy, "Primary Colors" is political satire at its most cynical, eagerly delving into the ugly side of elected office at the federal level. An impressively performed film with a nuanced look at the realities of political campaigning, "Primary Colors" subtly keeps its tongue-in-cheek as it skewers larger-than-life presidential personas.

Vice (2018)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Adam McKay focused on the life and legacy of Vice President Dick Cheney, a prominent member of George W. Bush's presidential administration, in the 2018 film "Vice." Starring Christian Bale in a transformative performance as Cheney, the movie charts the Vice president's career culminating in him accepting an offer from George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) to serve as his running mate. In exchange for joining the administration, Cheney successfully negotiates overseeing several key executive duties within the federal government, which grow in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy.

McKay brings his signature sense of self-aware satire to "Vice," complete with Cheney occasionally breaking the fourth wall to address the audience directly about the narrative. Though the response to the film and its portrayal of real-life events proved divisive, Bale's performance as Cheney was praised , earning him an Academy Award nomination for best actor . Packing a decidedly sharp bite with its satirical comedy, "Vice" isn't afraid to get outright nasty with its protagonist and his morally ambiguous role in historical events.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg examined the post-presidential life of John Quincy Adams and his role in a real-life 1841 Supreme Court case in the 1997 film "Amistad." The legal drama stars Anthony Hopkins as the former president, who is called to the courtroom for his legal expertise in a court case that will serve as a prelude to the American Civil War. Among the high-profile figures opposing Adams' legal defense is current President Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne) as the case garners national attention.

"Amistad" tells the incredible true story of a Spanish slaver ship that was overtaken by the contingent of trafficked personnel it was transporting from Africa to the United States to sell into slavery. Intercepted and taken into custody by the Americans, a court case regarding the would-be slaves' fate reaches the Supreme Court, with Adams representing the Africans to argue for their freedom. An excellent showcase for its cast, including Morgan Freeman and Djimon Hounsou, "Amistad" combines legal thriller with historical political drama that depicts Adams continuing to shape national policy, remaining an advocate for human rights beyond his presidency.

All the Way

After a successful Broadway run, the stage play "All the Way" by Robert Schenkkan was adapted into an HBO television film in 2016, with Bryan Cranston reprising his starring role as President Lyndon Baines Johnson. As Johnson plans to run for reelection in 1964, the United States becomes drawn deeper into the Vietnam War while the administration pushes for a legislative agenda combating national poverty. As Johnson balances these issues, he realizes he cannot ignore working on the Civil Rights Act as Martin Luther King Jr. (Anthony Mackie) raises its profile through national activism.

As he did on Broadway, Cranston portrays Johnson as a man suddenly thrust into the highest office in the land following the Kennedy assassination at one of the most pivotal moments in American history. "All the Way" covers a tremendous amount of breadth from the first term of the Johnson administration but director Jay Roach guides the story along at an engaging and easy-to-follow pace. Backed by an impressive cast, Cranston fully inhabits the role of Johnson, painting the portrait of a leader overwhelmed by mounting responsibility and a growing agenda that could collapse with one false step.

The country was shocked when President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, abruptly ending an era of renewed idealism before the late leader could complete his first term in office. A grieving nation searched for answers, with numerous conspiracy theories arising that the assassination may have been a secret government coup orchestrated at the highest levels. One of the earliest conspiracy theories surrounding the suspicious elements of Kennedy's murder is the focus of the 1991 political thriller "JFK," directed, produced, and co-written by Oliver Stone.

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) investigates local links to the Kennedy assassination that suggest suspected killer Lee Harvey Oswald had help from inside the federal government. Though "JFK" faced controversy upon its theatrical release for its depiction of Garrison's investigation and things it omitted from the true story , the quality of the film itself was widely praised, earning it an Academy Award nomination for best picture . A slow-burn political thriller that culminates in a tense courtroom drama, "JFK" is Stone leaning into his storytelling strengths to search for answers behind America's most public murder.

Young Mr. Lincoln

Long before Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States, he worked as a trial lawyer in Illinois before shifting his career focus to politics. Lincoln's legal career is explored in the 1939 film "Young Mr. Lincoln," starring Henry Fonda as the future president. It's a movie that serves as both a biography and a courtroom drama. The story revolves around a famed murder case in 1858 that saw Lincoln successfully defend a man accused of murder using an almanac , though "Young Mr. Lincoln" takes significant creative liberties.

"Young Mr. Lincoln" follows the eponymous protagonist as he starts his law practice in Springfield, Illinois, and falls in love with his future wife Mary Todd (Marjorie Weaver). Lincoln's first major case has him defend two young brothers accused of stabbing a man to death, with an eyewitness claiming to have seen the murder occur. With Fonda's earnestly driven performance elevating the entire film, "Young Mr. Lincoln" is a briskly paced biopic that focuses on a key moment in the president's early life.

The 1993 political comedy "Dave" brought an everyman perspective to the Oval Office, with star Kevin Kline pulling double duty as fictional President William Harrison Mitchell and his unassuming doppelganger Dave Kovic. Kovic is hired by the Secret Service to publicly impersonate President Mitchell to cover up the commander in chief's extramarital affairs, only to find himself center stage when Mitchell suffers a stroke. With the public unaware of the switch, Dave's more amiable personality and visible compassion change the perception of the White House while Dave grows closer to first lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver).

Under Ivan Reitman's reliably solid direction and an understated sense of humor and charm, "Dave" is the perfect cinematic antidote to political cynicism. Kline's performance as the titular protagonist is a reminder that absolute power needn't always corrupt. He also has magnetic chemistry with Weaver on-screen. A gentle subversion of political dramas fueled more by sentiment than pointed satire, "Dave" is a rare feel-good political film.

Frost/Nixon

Though Nixon was exposed for his role in the 1972 Watergate scandal, he was pardoned from all wrongdoing by subsequent President Gerald Ford, forcing the country to move on. One journalist who refused to let the controversy rest was British television host David Frost, who set out to grill Nixon in a series of publicly broadcast interviews. The interviews and the events behind them are dramatized in the stage play "Frost/Nixon" by Peter Morgan, which was adapted into a 2008 film of the same name by filmmaker Ron Howard.

Micheal Sheen and Frank Langella play Frost and Nixon, respectively, reprising their roles from the original Broadway and West End stage productions. The two characters verbally spar with one another as they try to take control of the televised conversation, each determined to make this interview one that will serve as the definitive epilogue to the Nixon presidency. Tautly paced and with Sheen and Langella at the height of their powers, "Frost/Nixon" provides a candid look at Nixon as he reflects on his presidential legacy.

The American President

Before creating the long-running presidential television series " The West Wing ," screenwriter Aaron Sorkin told a much different White House-centric story with the 1995 feature film "The American President." Directed and produced by Rob Reiner, the movie stars Michael Douglas as fictional commander in chief Andrew Shepherd who finds himself at a personal and professional crossroads. Douglas is joined by an all-star cast, including Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, and Martin Sheen in a film that blends mature romance with political intrigue and national stakes.

As President Shepherd prepares sweeping legislation that could determine his chances for reelection, he embarks on a romance with environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Bening). As Shepherd and Wade's relationship becomes public and intensifies, their romance becomes a heavily scrutinized part of the presidential administration, with Shepherd's political opposition leveraging it against him. Featuring Sorkin's penchant for rapidly paced high-brow dialog and solid performances from the entire cast, "The American President" is an excellent romantic drama and examination of the personal cost of being president.

All the President's Men

Nixon's connection to the Watergate scandal overshadowed the entire legacy of his presidential administration, but the incident was nearly suppressed from the public completely. The initial investigation of the scandal and its revelation to the world is the subject of the 1976 political thriller "All the President's Men" based on the joint 1974 memoir by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Recounting the two investigative reporters' role in exposing the full scope of Watergate, the film was hailed as an instant classic and earned an Academy Award nomination for best picture .

Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Woodward ( Robert Redford ) are assigned to investigate a burglary at Washington D.C.'s Watergate building, learning that the arrested burglars are linked to Nixon's reelection campaign. The two journalists are approached by a high-ranking source (Hal Holbrook) who places them in the direction of exposing a wider conspiracy involving the Nixon administration. Tightly paced and among Hoffman and Redford's most memorable roles , with a strong fidelity to the historical event, "All the President's Men" sets the bar for political thrillers and continues to remind audiences to stay vigilant for wanton abuse of power.

Steven Spielberg and an all-star cast delved into the final days of the Civil War in the 2012 film "Lincoln," including the 16th president's most lasting contribution to the republic which he defended. As the Confederacy makes its last stand, Abraham Lincoln ( Daniel Day-Lewis ) and his team scramble to ratify the 13th Amendment which will formally abolish slavery across the United States. Pulling out all the political stops to outmaneuver opposition in Congress, the Lincoln administration races against the clock to pass the amendment before the readmitted Confederate states would kill its passage.

Adapting the 2005 book "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Spielberg's movie captures the final four months of Lincoln's life. Day-Lewis portrays the president as a multi-faceted leader, quick with a joke or a story but also able to pinpoint his focus and play politics to achieve his ultimate goal. Perhaps Spielberg's finest film of the 21st century, "Lincoln" earned Day-Lewis an Academy Award for best actor to bring the venerable commander-in-chief to life.

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The American President Parent Guide

This rom-com manages to nail both halves of the genre: it's a laugh-out-loud love story..

Widower Andrew Shepherd thinks he has found love again, in the form of a lovely young woman named Sydney Wade, but there is a catch: He happens to be the President of the United States, and she is an influential lobbyist. Although the President is optimistic, his biggest opponent in the upcoming election sees an opportunity to destabilize him.

Run Time: 113 minutes

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kirsten hawkes.

President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) has been in office for three years and is riding high in the polls. Buoyed up by his public support, he’s determined to bring gun control and climate change bills to Congress to cement his legacy and launch his re-election campaign. And then he falls in love…

Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) is a professional political operative who has finally reached the pinnacle of a lobbyist’s career. After years of closing deals in statehouses, she’s been retained by an environmental group to lobby for a bill that would mandate a 20% reduction in greenhouse gases – double the goals of the President’s bill. She’s stubborn, feisty, opinionated, and apparently irresistible to President Shepherd.

The American President manages to nail both halves of the rom-com genre: it’s a romance and a very funny comedy. From its predictably awkward meet-cute to the hilarity of watching the widowed President phone a woman for a date, only to have her not believe his identity, this is a movie that will have you laughing throughout its nearly two hour runtime. It also goes a bit deeper than the standard genre film and asks questions about privacy and what limits to privacy presidents, politicians, and other public figures should expect. President Shepherd stubbornly refuses to publicly address his relationship with Sydney, despite the prescient warnings of his staff. In a heated exchange with Shepherd, staffer Lewis Rothschild (Michael J Fox) insists that “in this country it is not only permissible to question our leaders, it’s our responsibility!”

Parents will question the need for the negative content in this film, particularly the nearly two dozen swear words (including three sexual expletives in a non-sexual context). Depending on their values, parents might also wince at the sexual innuendo and implied sexual relationship between an unmarried couple, although they will be relieved that the movie does not feature any nudity, scenes in bed, or explicit sexual language.

Negative content aside, The American President puts some positive messages on the ballot. It depicts the consequences of betraying your convictions and those who trust you. It shows the need to work hard for what you believe in. And it demonstrates the need for integrity in both personal and public spheres. Now that’s a platform that everyone can vote for in any year.

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The American President Rating & Content Info

Why is The American President rated PG-13? The American President is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some strong language.

Violence: None noted. Sexual Content: A man and woman kiss and embrace on several occasions. A woman walks into a man’s bedroom wearing his shirt. There is an implied sexual relationship between an unmarried man and woman. A man implies that a woman has traded sexual favors for career advancement. Profanity: There are just under two dozen profanities in the film, with three sexual expletives, one slang term for sex, six scatological curses, five anatomical expressions, two terms of deity and five minor swear words. Them word “whore” is used. Alcohol / Drug Use: There is minor social drinking involving main characters.

Page last updated May 23, 2020

The American President Parents' Guide

Do you agree that we have a responsibility to question our leaders? Why is this important in a democracy?

President Shepherd argues that his opponent uses fear to manipulate voters into supporting him. Have you ever seen a politician use fear to earn political support? What fears did he or she focus on? Why is using fear an effective method of mobilizing political support?

If you could meet the President, what policies would you encourage him (or her) to support? Why is this issue important to you?

‘Civil War’: What you need to know about A24’s dystopian action movie

Kirsten Dunst holds a camera in her lowered hand while another hangs off her backpack in "Civil War."

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A24’s “Civil War,” the latest film from “Ex Machina” and “Men” director Alex Garland , imagines a third-term president ruling over a divided America and follows the journalists driving through the war-torn countryside on a mission to land his final interview. The movie is pulse-pounding and contemplative, as the characters tumble from one tense encounter to the next and ruminate on the nature of journalism and wartime photography.

In his review of the film, The Times’ Joshua Rothkopf wrote, “‘Civil War’ will remind you of the great combat films , the nauseating artillery ping of ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ the surreal up-is-down journey of ‘Apocalypse Now.’ It also bears a pronounced connection to the 2002 zombie road movie scripted by its writer-director Alex Garland, ‘28 Days Later.’”

Starring Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny as photojournalists, alongside Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson (and a scene-stealing, nerve-racking Jesse Plemons ), the film carries a reported production budget of $50 million and has already started to recoup the costs at the box office, earning $25.7 million in ticket sales in its first weekend in North America.

“Civil War” has also been a discourse juggernaut. Conversation on social media has focused on the lack of context given for the conflict at the heart of the film. In a recent column, The Times’ Mary McNamara wrote that “forcing the very real political divisions that plague this nation into vague subtext doesn’t even serve the purported pro-journalism nature of ‘Civil War.’”

Catch up on our coverage of the film below.

Review: ‘Civil War’ shows an America long past unraveling, which makes it necessary

Starring Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny as journalists chronicling a war at home, writer-director Alex Garland’s action film provokes a shudder of recognition.

April 11, 2024

Los Angeles, CA - April 02: Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny pose for a portrait as they promote their new film, "Civil War," at Four Seasons Beverly Hills on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny on the nightmarish ‘Civil War’: ‘No nation is immune’

Writer-director Alex Garland’s controversy-courting political fable about a violently divided America brings together two generation-defining actors.

April 4, 2024

Kirsten Dunst, left, and Cailee Spaeny in 'Civil War'

What ‘Civil War’ gets right and wrong about photojournalism, according to a Pulitzer Prize winner

Carolyn Cole, a veteran L.A. Times photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of civil war in Liberia, breaks down the depiction of her profession in A24’s ‘Civil War.’

April 16, 2024

Actors Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons arrive for "Civil War" special screening

Inside the most unnerving scene in ‘Civil War’: ‘It was a stunning bit of good luck’

With a deeply disturbing turn by Jesse Plemons, one scene in “Civil War” encapsulates the film’s combustible political balancing act. It almost didn’t happen.

April 12, 2024

In trying to hedge its politics, ‘Civil War’ betrays its characters — and the audience

Alex Garland’s powerful war drama is ostensibly a tribute to the fourth estate. But the film is absent the examination of causes and consequences central to great journalism.

April 15, 2024

Two women with press helmets and vests crouch to take a photo in a scene from "Civil War."

Company Town

After ‘Civil War’ and mainstream success, can indie darling A24 keep its cool?

‘Civil War’s’ overperformance at the box office proves that A24’s brand is strong enough to open a divisive $50-million about a dystopian America.

This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

Entertainment & Arts

‘Civil War’ unites moviegoers at box office

Alex Garland’s ‘Civil War,’ about a strife-torn, near-future America, knocked ‘Godzilla x Kong’ from the top spot at the weekend box office.

April 14, 2024

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What a TikTok ban in the US could mean for you

The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban. Here’s what to know.

FILE - A TikTok content creator, sits outside the U.S. Capitol, April 23, 2024, in Washington. TikTok is gearing up for a legal fight against a U.S. law that would force the social media platform to break ties with its China-based parent company or face a ban. A battle in the courts will almost certainly be backed by Chinese authorities as the bitter U.S.-China rivalry threatens the future of a wildly popular way for young Americans to connect online. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, file)

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A TikTok content creator, speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Washington, as Senators prepare to consider legislation that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Jennifer Gay, a TikTok content creator, sits outside the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Washington as Senators prepare to consider legislation that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

FILE - The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., March 17, 2023. The House has passed legislation Saturday, April 20, 2024, to ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake, sending it to the Senate as part of a larger package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. House Republicans’ decision to add the TikTok bill to the foreign aid package fast-tracked the legislation after it had stalled in the Senate. The aid bill is a priority for President Joe Biden that has broad congressional support. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

No, TikTok will not suddenly disappear from your phone. Nor will you go to jail if you continue using it after it is banned.

After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app , including by former President Donald Trump , a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature. The measure gives Beijing-based parent company ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn’t, TikTok will be banned.

So what does this mean for you, a TikTok user, or perhaps the parent of a TikTok user? Here are some key questions and answers.

WHEN DOES THE BAN GO INTO EFFECT?

The original proposal gave ByteDance just six months to divest from its U.S. subsidiary, negotiations lengthened it to nine. Then, if the sale is already in progress, the company will get another three months to complete it.

So it would be at least a year before a ban goes into effect — but with likely court challenges, this could stretch even longer, perhaps years. TikTok has seen some success with court challenges in the past, but it has never sought to prevent federal legislation from going into effect.

FILE- Activists of Jammu and Kashmir Dogra Front shout slogans against Chinese President Xi Jinping next to a banner showing the logos of TikTok and other Chinese apps banned in India during a protest in Jammu, India, July 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

WHAT IF I ALREADY DOWNLOADED IT?

TikTok, which is used by more than 170 million Americans, most likely won’t disappear from your phone even if an eventual ban does take effect. But it would disappear from Apple and Google’s app stores, which means users won’t be able to download it. This would also mean that TikTok wouldn’t be able to send updates, security patches and bug fixes, and over time the app would likely become unusable — not to mention a security risk.

BUT SURELY THERE ARE WORKAROUNDS?

Teenagers are known for circumventing parental controls and bans when it comes to social media, so dodging the U.S. government’s ban is certainly not outside the realm of possibilities. For instance, users could try to mask their location using a VPN, or virtual private network, use alternative app stores or even install a foreign SIM card into their phone.

But some tech savvy is required, and it’s not clear what will and won’t work. More likely, users will migrate to another platform — such as Instagram, which has a TikTok-like feature called Reels , or YouTube, which has incorporated vertical short videos in its feed to try to compete with TikTok. Often, such videos are taken directly from TikTok itself. And popular creators are likely to be found on other platforms as well, so you’ll probably be able to see the same stuff.

“The TikTok bill relies heavily on the control that Apple and Google maintain over their smartphone platforms because the bill’s primary mechanism is to direct Apple and Google to stop allowing the TikTok app on their respective app stores,” said Dean Ball, a research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. “Such a mechanism might be much less effective in the world envisioned by many advocates of antitrust and aggressive regulation against the large tech firms.”

SHOULD I BE WORRIED ABOUT USING TIKTOK?

Lawmakers from both parties — as well as law enforcement and intelligence officials — have long expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over data on the 170 million Americans who use TikTok. The worry stems from a set of Chinese national security laws that compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering - which ByteDance would likely be subject to – and other far-reaching ways the country’s authoritarian government exercises control.

Data privacy experts say, though, that the Chinese government could easily get information on Americans in other ways, including through commercial data brokers that sell or rent personal information.

Lawmakers and some administration officials have also expressed concerns that China could - potentially – direct or influence ByteDance to suppress or boost TikTok content that are favorable to its interests. TikTok, for its part, has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government. The company has also said it has never shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities and won’t do so if it’s asked.

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The American President

A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
Andrew Shepherd is approaching the end of his first term as President of the United States. He's a widower with a young daughter and has proved to be popular with the public. His election seems assured. That is until he meets Sydney Ellen Wade, a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He's immediately smitten with her and after several amusing attempts, they finally manage to go on a date (which happens to be a State dinner for the visiting President of France). His relationship with Wade opens the door for his prime political opponent, Senator Bob Rumson, to launch an attack on the President's character, something he could not do in the previous election as Shepherd's wife had only recently died. — garykmcd
US President Andrew Shepherd, a Democrat, is two and a half years into his first term. With a sixty-three percent approval rating, he is well on his way to a second term, especially as the Republicans have nothing and no one to fight those things that make him popular. Regardless, Andy is hesitant at this time to introduce any groundbreaking legislation, a crime bill which he has watered down to make it more palatable to the general populace, despite it doing nothing effectively to prevent crime. Andy's wife Mary Shepherd passed away one year before the election from cancer, leaving him to raise his now preteen daughter Lucy Shepherd on his own. Mary's passing also placed Andy's character off the table as an election issue for the Republicans. Andy meets Sydney Ellen Wade at a White House meeting, she, an effective political strategist known for being a "closer", hired on contract by Leo Solomon of the Global Defense Council, an environmental lobby group, her tenure despite she having no knowledge of environmental issues. Despite her being a bit tongue-tied during the President's surprise appearance at the meeting, she does make a positive impression on him in all aspects, he asking her on a date, to which she positively responds. Their courtship is a quick one as they are attracted to each other. Despite their attraction, they have to decide if they should or could pursue a serious relationship as they do both acknowledge that such a relationship could hurt them both professionally, the Senate Minority Leader, Bob Rumson, who is looking for such a character issue against Andy for his own run to the Oval Office. On the flip side, inadvertent "pillow talk" between Andy and Sydney about professional issues may also lead to personal problems if those items are used for their own political/professional gain. — Huggo
As President, Andrew Shepherd is immensely popular (he has a 63% approval rating). As a man, he's a lonely father struggling to raise a daughter. His struggles multiply when his romance with lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade becomes fodder for both the press and a rival Senator -- precipitating a rapid drop in the polls. — spidarman
Michael Douglas is President Andrew Shepherd, a widower and father who begins to get uncomfortable with the perception surrounding his being a single father. He drops in on a meeting with environmental lobbyists and meets hard-charging Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). After Sydney escorts President Shepherd to a State dinner, the two strike up a relationship, much to the chagrin of Sydney's boss, played by John Mahoney, and much to the delight of President Shepherd's political rival, the scheming Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss). Rumson's attacks on Sydney and the President's character send President Shepherd's approval ratings tumbling and eventually forces Shepherd to choose between one of his priority bills and the bill Sydney was hired to get passed.

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Michael Douglas and Annette Bening in The American President (1995)

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Civil War is a terrifying film, but Trump: The Sequel will be a real-life horror show

If the former president regains the White House in November, America faces a more dystopian future than that being shown in cinemas

D irector, cast and critics all agree: Civil War , the movie depicting America tearing itself to bloody bits while a cowardly, authoritarian president skulks in the White House, is not about Donald Trump . But it is, really.

Likewise, the first ever criminal trial of a US president , now playing to huge audiences in New York, is ostensibly about claims that Trump fraudulently bought the silence of a former porn star called Stormy after a tacky Lake Tahoe tryst. But it isn’t, really.

Both movie and trial are about a Trump second term. They’re about sex, lies and Access Hollywood videotape, about trust and betrayal, truth and division. They’re about democracy in America, where political feuds and vendettas swirl, guns proliferate and debates over civil rights are neither civil nor right.

Alex Garland’s smash-hit “post-ideological” dystopian nightmare and the Manhattan courthouse peak-time showdown are both ultimately about the same things: the uses and abuses of power, about a nation’s journey to extremes where, as in Moby’s song, it falls apart.

Talking of disintegration, what a diminished figure Trump now cuts in court. Slouched, round-shouldered and silenced alongside his lawyers, he acts up, sulky, aggrieved, childishly petulant. The room is cold, he whinges. Potential jurors rudely insult him to his face! It’s all so unfair.

Trump never did dignified, not even in the Oval Office. Yet even by his tawdry standards, this daily demeaning before an unbending judge is irretrievably, publicly humiliating . The loss of face and sustaining swagger begin to look terminal. For Trump the alleged criminal conspirator, as opposed to Trump the presidential comeback king, the familiar campaign cry of “Four More Years!” has a disturbing ring. Four years in chokey is what he faces if found guilty on 34 felony charges .

It’s no coincidence, so Trump camp followers believe, that Civil War premiered in election year. No surprise, either, that a Democratic district attorney pushed for the trial. Or that latest polling by the “liberal media” suggests Trump is losing ground to Joe Biden.

Despite all that, the Make America Great Again screenplay is unchanging. Trump’s blockbuster second march on Washington is merely on pause, Maga-men say. He’s making an epic sequel and he’ll be back in November with all guns blazing – which is the problem, in a nutshell.

If you doubt it, just look at Pennsylvania. Even as the defendant, dozy and defiant by turns, snoozed in court and slandered witnesses on social media , this same presumed 2024 Republican champion was effortlessly sweeping last week’s party primary with 83% of the vote .

Donald Trump in Manhattan criminal court on 26 April.

There’s no real-world contradiction here. A grumpy Trump scowling at the bench and a Civil War -like wannabe dictator hot for White House power and glory are united in one unlovely, vicious personage. Two sides of the same bent cent. The list of Trump’s crimes for which he has yet to be tried extends far beyond the New York indictment and the charge sheets in three other pending cases. Like Tom Ripley, the sociopathic narcissist anti-hero of Netflix’s popular TV mini-series , Trump is violently dangerous beyond all knowing.

The lethal 6 January insurrection he incited and applauded was stark treason against the republic. No argument. The racist relativism of Charlottesville in 2017 foreshadowed recent, unrepentant talk of “ poisoning the blood of our country ”. His corrosive words burn like acid through the social fabric. No Civil War paramilitary crazy could wish for more than Trump’s eager feeding of America’s gun addiction, support for domestic execution and assassination overseas, collaboration with murderous dictators, debasement of the supreme court and hostility to open government, free speech and impartial reporting.

No Ripley -style conman or fraudster could hope to emulate the master criminal’s arm-twisting of Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden’s son , Hunter, his political protection rackets and shameless nepotism, his suborning of his party, Congress and the legal system or his rich man’s contempt for the ordinary Joe who actually pays taxes.

A prospective second Trump term presages obsessive score-settling at home and abject appeasement abroad. Judges, law officers, witnesses, female accusers, military men, diplomats, academics and critical media may be among the early victims of a national revenge tragedy – a personalised purge of the institutions of state that could prove fatal to democracy .

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Trump’s fawning obsequiousness towards Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and vendetta against Kyiv’s leadership , spell disaster for Ukraine. Nor can there be much confidence, for all his bluster, that he would stand up to China should it invade Taiwan .

Prepare, too, for a likely European rupture and trade war, a Nato split and an unravelling of 75 years of transatlantic collaboration. Prepare for an out-of-control global arms race, unchecked nuclear weapons proliferation on Earth and in space and the wholesale abandonment of climate crisis goals. A Trump success in November, with all the ensuing chaos, schism and constitutional outrages, would bring closer both an end to peaceful, rational debate within America and the demise of US global leadership.

So truly, is Civil War so very far off the mark? Is it really not about Trump and Trumpism? It’s certainly more comforting to frame the movie as an entertainment, to interpret its studied avoidance of direct references to present-day politics as reassurance that, at heart, it’s essentially make-believe. But that denialist view is itself a type of escapism or wishful thinking. It won’t silence the guns .

In one untypical, symbolic scene, the war-weary photojournalist played by Kirsten Dunst, all body armour and pursed lips, tries on a pretty dress in a downtown store insulated from the fighting. It is as if she, like America, is trying, fleetingly, to recover her humanity.

It’s unclear whether she succeeds. More hopeful moments like that, and a good deal less trumpery, are badly needed now.

Simon Tisdall is the Observer ’s Foreign Affairs Commentator

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at [email protected]

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The Real Path to an American Civil War

A large puddle on asphalt reflects what’s above it: a man in a red MAGA baseball cap, two children in red shirts and a large American flag.

By Ross Douthat

Opinion Columnist

This week Donald Trump was put on trial by a liberal prosecutor on what seems like the most nakedly political of the multiple charges that he’s facing. To protest this outrage against their glorious leader, the MAGA faithful gathered outside the New York courthouse in the thousands, ready to storm into the halls of justice … well, perhaps in the hundreds, ready to get in the face of Trump’s legal persecutors … well, no, actually it was a few dozen Trump supporters, waving signs and outnumbered by the gawking press.

This fairly pitiful scene made an interesting accompaniment to the country’s biggest movie at the moment, Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” which depicts a version of contemporary America riven by civil strife, with various secessionist forces at war against a dictatorial president who’s stayed on for a third term.

That president is clearly a Trump-like figure, but the movie is extremely light on politics; it’s mostly interested in juxtaposing scenes of brutality — mass graves, tortured prisoners, firefights and summary executions — with the familiar American landscapes of shopping malls, carwashes and the pillars of the White House. We aren’t supposed to ask for detailed how-we-got-here explanations; we’re just supposed to meditate on how easily It Could Happen Here.

Some people who like “Civil War” find the political lacuna admirable, since it cuts the movie free from current ideological preoccupations and lets us take the antiwar message straight.

Some people who dislike the movie — I am one of them — think that the underexplanation is a total cop-out , making civil strife seem like a natural disaster or a zombie apocalypse, when in reality it usually represents the extension of politics by awful but reasonable-seeming means. If you refuse to give those reasons, to explain how exactly the politics of today’s America could yield our own version of 1990s Yugoslavia, you haven’t actually made a movie about an American civil war; you just have war as a generic signifier that happens to have strip malls and subdivisions in the background.

This objection is weaker the more the path to a second U.S. civil war seems self-evident. If you think we’re obviously teetering on the brink of such a disaster, it’s easier to accept a work of art that imagines us tipped over.

A lot of people think that these days, so here is a short list of the reasons they’re wrong. America’s ideological divisions don’t follow the kind of geographical or regional lines that lend themselves to secessionist movements or armed conflict. America’s political coalitions have become less polarized by race and ethnicity of late, not more. America is getting older and richer with every passing year, both of which strongly disincentivize transforming political differences into military ones. And such disincentives are especially strong for the elites who would need to divide into opposing camps: Texan or Californian power brokers, for example, both have far more influence as powerful stakeholders of the American empire than they would as leaders of a Lone Star or Bear Flag Republic.

Above all, a civil war needs people eager for the fight — a lot of people for continentwide war of the kind depicted in the movie, but a critical mass even for a lower-grade form of civil strife, like Northern Ireland’s Troubles. And relative to past eras of crisis in our history, from the 1860s to the 1960s, Americans today just do not display any great enthusiasm for politically motivated violence.

Instead, the gap between the Sturm und Drang online and the handful of Trump supporters at the courthouse this week is representative of one part of our condition: an enthusiasm for online conflict, virtual combat, rage tweets and hate clicks as substitutes for brawling and bombing in the real world.

The other part of our condition, meanwhile, is a growing spirit of pessimism, apathy and dropping out: We are more melancholic than choleric; more disillusioned than fanatical. And a Trump-Biden rematch that inspires general dismay but can’t get even the TV ratings of the last round is not likely to be our Fort Sumter moment.

To which comes the response: What about a second Trump administration as the spark, given the way the last Trump administration ended? What about Jan. 6? What about, to be more bipartisan, the waves of protest and violence in the summer of 2020, the cities on fire, the tear gas outside the White House? Didn’t Americans show an appetite for internecine conflict then?

The answer is that they did, albeit up to a well-short-of-the-1860s point. But the breakdown happened only in the pandemic year, under extremely unusual conditions and pressures most people had never experienced before. A once-in-a-century global plague and an unprecedented shutdown of society converging with a fraught election did, indeed, break through the torpor I’m describing, turn virtual playacting into actual statue toppling and make right-wing dreampolitik temporarily real. In that sense, 2020 showed that any general pattern or trend can be disrupted, given insane-seeming circumstances and a mentality of existential crisis.

But once the circumstances normalized, the appeal of protest politics dissipated. There was no follow-up to Jan. 6 on the right, no wave of insurrectionary violence carried out by true believers in President Biden’s illegitimacy, no rush to join the Proud Boys by ordinary right-wingers. Likewise on the left, the racial reckoning was subsumed back into bureaucratic politics, the CHAZ commune in Seattle was dismantled rather than imitated, antifa receded back into the shadows. It’s not that protest politics disappeared (witness the various disruptive protests on behalf of Palestine) or extremism vanished, but both returned to the realm of the exceptional remarkably swiftly.

So if you were really interested in what it would take for the United States to actually plunge into armed conflict, to be divided into warring camps and not just polarized blocs of voters, the lesson of 2020 is that you should be looking for some kind of rupture, some world-shaking external or internal force, as the necessary precondition.

Maybe a pandemic substantially worse than Covid, which prompts states to close their borders and splits the country much more completely and viciously than did the difference between, say, New York and Florida’s pandemic policies.

Maybe a great defeat in war and an economic crisis — China taking Taiwan, North Korea overrunning South Korea, the stock market melting down as the Pax Americana topples, a discredited establishment facing new forms of demagogy and revolt.

Maybe some radical technological development, out on the frontiers of A.I., that reshapes the contours of normal life and creates new moods of utopianism or desperation.

Maybe a true climate crisis, not just slowly rising temperatures but one of the “tail risk” scenarios for global disaster.

What I’m offering here are basically notes on the “Civil War” screenplay, suggestions for how it could have made its vision of war coming home seem more realistic. But they all involve something more than just an extension of current trends, a slightly heightened version of contemporary U.S. politics.

Could it happen here? Maybe. But something stranger than just Trump v. Biden, Round 2, would have to happen first.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Ross Douthat has been an Opinion columnist for The Times since 2009. He is the author, most recently, of “The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery.” @ DouthatNYT • Facebook

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Zendaya's 'challengers' smash at box office, audience reviews more mixed, zendaya's 'challengers' game, set, match at box office ... audiences seem conflicted.

Zendaya 's got a major win to celebrate ... her new tennis movie "Challengers" is on pace to smash the competition at the box office -- though audience reaction seems more mixed.

Deadline reports the movie's headed for a $15.2 million opening ... nearly doubling the next highest opening -- that movie's called "Unsung Hero," and the trade publication says is headed for an $8 million weekend.

The outlet's telling "Challengers" producers to hold their horses though ... 'cause $15 million's pretty far from the reported $50+M budget this flick carries.

And, in case you're wondering ... Deadline says PostTrak -- a data company that talks to movie audiences as they leave the theater -- confirmed people are coming out to see Zendaya. They say 55% of respondents came because of her.

But, whether those audiences enjoyed the flick ... kinda unclear at this point. According to Rotten Tomatoes , 88% of critics enjoyed the movie -- much higher than the 77% of audience members who said the same.

77% is still pretty high ... but -- with a movie this anticipated -- 1 in every 4 reviewers bombing the flick doesn't exactly bode well for attracting future audiences.

Of course, many know the movie from the sexual tension in the trailer ... including a scene where two men kiss Zendaya's neck. It's been on people's calendars for a while now because of it -- and, perhaps early audiences built the flick up too much in their heads.

Bottom line ... this weekend's box office match is done -- but, some viewers are already labeling the movie a fault!!!

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Fact Sheet: Vice President Harris Announces Historic Advancements in Long-Term Care to Support the Care Economy

Actions are the latest in a series of steps the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to improve safety, provide support for care workers and family caregivers, and to expand access to affordable, high-quality care

Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and to have access to quality care. That’s why, today, Vice President Harris is announcing two landmark final rules that fulfill the President’s commitment to safety in care, improving access to long-term care and the quality of caregiving jobs. Ensuring that all Americans, including older Americans and people with disabilities, have access to care – including home-based care – that is safe, reliable, and of high quality is an important part of the President’s agenda and a part of the President’s broader commitment to care. Today’s announcements deliver on the President’s promise in the State of the Union to crack down on nursing homes that endanger resident safety as well as his historic Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers , which included the most comprehensive set of executive actions any President has taken to improve care for millions of seniors and people with disabilities while supporting care workers and family caregivers.

Cracking Down on Inadequate Nursing Home Care

Medicare and Medicaid pay billions of dollars per year to ensure that 1.2 million Americans that receive care in nursing homes are cared for, yet too many nursing homes chronically understaff their facilities, leading to sub-standard or unsafe care. When facilities are understaffed, residents may go without basic necessities like baths, trips to the bathroom, and meals – and it is less safe when residents have a medical emergency. Understaffing can also have a disproportionate impact on women and people of color who make up a large proportion of the nursing home workforce because, without sufficient support, these dedicated workers can’t provide the care they know the residents deserve. In his 2022 State of the Union address, President Biden pledged that he would “protect seniors’ lives and life savings by cracking down on nursing homes that commit fraud, endanger patient safety, or prescribe drugs they don’t need.”

The Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Rule finalized today will require all nursing homes that receive federal funding through Medicare and Medicaid to have 3.48 hours per resident per day of total staffing, including a defined number from both registered nurses (0.55 hours per resident per day) and nurse aides (2.45 per resident per day). This means a facility with 100 residents would need at least two or three RNs and at least ten or eleven nurse aides as well as two additional nurse staff (which could be registered nurses, licensed professional nurses, or nurse aides) per shift to meet the minimum staffing standards. Many facilities would need to staff at a higher level based on their residents’ needs. It will also require facilities to have a registered nurse onsite 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide skilled nursing care, which will further improve nursing home safety. Adequate staffing is proven to be one of the measures most strongly associated with safety and good care outcomes.

To make sure nursing homes have the time they need to hire necessary staff, the requirements of this rule will be introduced in phases, with longer timeframes for rural communities. Limited, temporary exemptions will be available for both the 24/7 registered nurse requirement and the underlying staffing standards for nursing homes in workforce shortage areas that demonstrate a good faith effort to hire.

Strong transparency measures will ensure nursing home residents and their families are aware when a nursing home is using an exemption.

This rule will not only benefit residents and their families, it will also ensure that workers aren’t stretched too thin by having inadequate staff on site, which is currently a common reason for worker burnout and turnover. Workers who are on the frontlines interacting with residents and understanding their needs will also be given a voice in developing staffing plans for nursing homes. The Biden-Harris Administration also continues to invest in expanding the pipeline of nursing workers and other care workers, who are so essential to our economy, including through funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Improving Access to Home Care and the Quality of Home Care Jobs

Over seven million seniors and people with disabilities, alongside their families, rely on home and community-based services to provide for long-term care needs in their own homes and communities. This critical care is provided by a dedicated home care workforce, made up disproportionately by women of color, that often struggles to make ends meet due to low wages and few benefits. At the same time, home care is still very inaccessible for many Medicaid enrollees, with more than threequarters of home care providers not accepting new clients, leaving hundreds of thousands of older Americans and Americans with disabilities on waiting lists or struggling to afford the care they need.

The “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services” final rule, finalized today, will help improve access to home care services as well as improve the quality caregiving jobs through its new provisions for home care. Specifically, the rule will ensure adequate compensation for home care workers by requiring that at least 80 percent of Medicaid payments for home care services go to workers’ wages. This policy would also allow states to take into account the unique experiences that small home care providers and providers in rural areas face while ensuring their employees receive their fair share of Medicaid payments and continued training as well as the delivery of quality care. Higher wages will likely reduce turnover, leading to higher quality of care for older adults and people with disabilities across the nation, as studies have shown. States will also be required to be more transparent in how much they pay for home care services and how they set those rates, increasing the accountability for home care providers. Finally, states will have to create a home care rate-setting advisory group made up of beneficiaries, home care workers and other key stakeholders to advise and consult on provider payment rates and direct compensation for direct care workers.

Strong Record on Improving Access to Care and Supporting Caregivers

Today’s new final rules are in addition to an already impressive track record on delivering on the President’s Executive Order on Care. Over the last year, the Biden-Harris Administration has:

Increased pay for care workers, including by proposing a rule to gradually increase pay for Head Start teachers by about $10,000, to reach parity with the salaries of public preschool teachers.
Cut child care costs for low-income families by finalizing a rule that will reduce or eliminate copayments for more than 100,000 working families, and lowering the cost of care for lower earning service members, thereby reducing the cost of child care for nearly two-thirds of children receiving care on military bases. Military families earning $45,000 would see a 34% decrease in the amount they pay for child care.
Supported family caregivers by making it easier for family caregivers to access Medicare beneficiary information and provide more support as they prepare for their loved ones to be discharged from the hospital. The Administration has also expanded access to mental health services for tens of thousands of family caregivers who are helping veterans.

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COMMENTS

The American President movie review (1995)
Produced and Directed by. It is hard to make a good love story, harder to make a good comedy and harder still to make an intelligent film about politics. Rob Reiner's "The American President" cheerfully does all three, and is a great entertainment - one of those films, like "Forrest Gump" or "Apollo 13," that however briefly unites the audience ...
The American President
Rated: 6/10 • Sep 9, 2020. Oct 15, 2019. With the end of his first term in sight, widowed U.S. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) knows that overwhelming public support will guarantee ...
The American President
When the focus is on romantic comedy, the film is breezy and amusing; but when it switches to dramas involving fundraising and campaigning, it grows stickier. Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 ...
The American President (1995)
8/10. A warm, idealistic, romantic, and superb insider look at the American Presidency. secondtake 16 January 2013. The American President (1995) What a smart, fast, feel-good movie about American politics and the power of the presidency. And how unlikely (these thing don't usually go together).
The American President (1995)
The American President: Directed by Rob Reiner. With Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox. A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
The American President Movie Review
Our review: Parents say ( 5 ): Kids say ( 2 ): This is a delightful romantic comedy. Viewers of all ages will likely be able to relate to the president's conflict -- especially when it's resolved with the help of great dialogue from Aaron Sorkin, who went on to write The West Wing.
The American President
The American President is a 1995 American political romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin.The film stars Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd, a widower who pursues a relationship with environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) - who has just moved to Washington, D.C. - while at the same time attempting to win the ...
The American President
Charming, cute, and sweet romantically, while tough, smart, and poignant politically, The American President is a really top-notch film that is a masterclass in writing. Every word of dialogue oozes with power and weight, while demonstrating Sorkin's talent at creating incredibly well developed characters.
The American President : A Most Optimistic Rom-Com
The American President, however, was written by Aaron Sorkin, which means that its absurdities have a way of seeming much more epic than they actually are. The movie, for its many flaws, is a rom ...
The American President (1995)
Watching The American President, I felt respect for the craft that went into it: the flawless re-creation of the physical world of the White House, the smart and accurate dialogue, the manipulation of the love story to tug our heartstrings. 88. San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser. An old-fashioned movie.
The American President Review
07 Dec 1995. Running Time: 120 minutes. Certificate: 12. Original Title: American President, The. The formerly unimpeachable Rob Reiner may have come a cropper with the ill-conceived and ...
FILM REVIEW;A Chief Executive in Love in the White House
"The American President" isn't too squeaky-clean to find Sydney eventually sleeping in the White House (and mingling awkwardly with Andrew's staff during an especially funny 5 A.M. scene).
The American President
The American President. By Peter Travers. November 17, 1995. Imagine the hooker played by Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman asking Richard Gere, her millionaire prince charming, to put some of his ...
The American President 1995, directed by Rob Reiner
Part romantic comedy, part Capra-corny political drama, this movie exudes so much sympathy, it sweats. Douglas's eminently decent, recently widowed Democratic President, 'Andy' Shepherd, is so ...
Siskel and Ebert
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both give this 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner (and starring Michael Douglas, Annett...
Movie Review: The American President (1995)
A romance set in the high altitude world of the White House, The American President benefits from a stellar cast and a balanced blend of love and politics, although the idealism does get somewhat mawkish. Democratic President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), a widower, is three years into his first term, eyeing reelection, and riding high in approval ratings.
American President, The
The American President wants to be a fantasy -- Shepherd is far too good to be true -- yet it keeps trying to ground itself in a "Clintonesque" faux reality, creating a noticeable conflict in tone. And, unlike Dave, this film doesn't offer anything really biting. Sure, it's likable (which Dave was, as well), but it's also bland.
Movie Reviews for The American President by our Readers
Movie reviews written by readers of The BigScreen Cinema Guide -- movie enthusiasts, not professional movie critics. ... The American President Academy Award® Nominee A widowed President falls for a political lobbyist, much to the chagrin of his staff trying to get him re-elected. Starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, ...
The American President movie review (1995)
It is hard to make a good sweetheart story, harder to make a good comedy and harder still to perform an intelligent picture via politics. Rob Reiner's "The American President" gladly does show three, and is a cool entertainment - one of those films, favorite "Forrest Gump" or "Apollo 13," that however briefly unites the audience in a review of the American dream.
The 20 Best Movies About American Presidents
5. Frost/Nixon (2008) Ron Howard's ticktock of how British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) got an out-of-office and exiled Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) not only on his television show ...
The 15 Best Movies About American Presidents You Should Watch
Dick. Sony Pictures Releasing. The scandal-ridden Nixon administration is one of the more embarrassing periods of the American presidency, and the 1999 comedy "Dick" has lots of fun with the ...
The American President Movie Review for Parents
The American President Rating & Content Info . Why is The American President rated PG-13? The American President is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some strong language.. Violence: None noted. Sexual Content: A man and woman kiss and embrace on several occasions. A woman walks into a man's bedroom wearing his shirt. There is an implied sexual relationship between an unmarried man and woman.
'Civil War' explained: Inside Alex Garland's new A24 movie
A24's "Civil War," the latest film from "Ex Machina" and "Men" director Alex Garland, imagines a third-term president ruling over a divided America and follows the journalists ...
Biden has passed a potential TikTok ban into law. Here's what that
FILE - The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., March 17, 2023. The House has passed legislation Saturday, April 20, 2024, to ban TikTok in the U.S. if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake, sending it to the Senate as part of a larger package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel.
How the Movie 'Civil War' Echoes Real Political Anxieties
The movie has outperformed expectations at theaters from Brownsville, Texas, to Boston, tapping into a dark set of national anxieties that took hold after the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.
The American President (1995)
Synopsis. Michael Douglas is President Andrew Shepherd, a widower and father who begins to get uncomfortable with the perception surrounding his being a single father. He drops in on a meeting with environmental lobbyists and meets hard-charging Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). After Sydney escorts President Shepherd to a State dinner, the two ...
Civil War is a terrifying film, but Trump: The Sequel will be a real
D irector, cast and critics all agree: Civil War, the movie depicting America tearing itself to bloody bits while a cowardly, authoritarian president skulks in the White House, is not about Donald ...
Opinion
That president is clearly a Trump-like figure, but the movie is extremely light on politics; it's mostly interested in juxtaposing scenes of brutality — mass graves, tortured prisoners ...
Zendaya's 'Challengers' Smash at Box Office, Audience Reviews ...
Zendaya's got a major win to celebrate ... her new tennis movie "Challengers" is on pace to smash the competition at the box office -- though audience reaction seems more mixed.. Deadline reports ...
Fact Sheet: Vice President Harris Announces Historic Advancements in
Actions are the latest in a series of steps the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to improve safety, provide support for care workers and family caregivers, and to expand access to affordable ...

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Friday 27 September 2013

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