Dave (film)

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Dave
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Produced by Ivan Reitman,
Lauren Shuler-Donner
Written by Gary Ross
Starring Kevin Kline,
Sigourney Weaver,
Frank Langella,
Kevin Dunn,
Ving Rhames,
and Ben Kingsley
Music by James Newton Howard
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) May 7, 1993
Running time 110 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Dave is a 1993 comedy-drama movie written by Gary Ross, directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Kline (in a dual role), Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, and Laura Linney. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay. Kline's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Kline plays Dave Kovic, who runs a temporary employment agency in Baltimore. As a sideline, he makes public and private appearances impersonating President William "Bill" Harrison Mitchell, whom he greatly resembles (and who, of course, is also played by Kline). Mitchell's devious Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hires Kovic to make an exit at an appearance of President Mitchell, to cover up an extramarital affair that Mitchell is having.

When the real President Mitchell suffers a stroke during the affair that leaves him in a coma, Bob Alexander sees an opportunity. Along with Communications Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn), Alexander arranges for the President's comatose state to be kept secret. They then con Kovic into impersonating the president on an ongoing basis by telling him that the country would suffer if the truth was revealed or if Vice President Gary Nance (Ben Kingsley), who they say is mentally ill, took office.

The real idea, of course, is that Alexander will now exercise the power of the presidency through Kovic as a patsy. But instead Kovic sets his own course of action, which revives Mitchell's popularity with the public and mystifies both the Washington media (several well-known personalities make cameo appearances as themselves) and First Lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), whose public support of her husband has been a cover for bitter marital strife in their private life. When he takes the exteme action of reworking the national budget in order to save a $650,000,000 program for helping the homeless -- a project she supported but Alexander wanted vetoed -- she confronts him and eventually joins in the act. With this development, Kovic holds a news conference announcing that he is firing Bob Alexander.

Eventually, Kovic meets Nance, who chastises him for being isolated from the cabinet by being sent out of the country on a public relations coup. Kovic comes to realize that affable Nance isn't insane, but merely has different political ideas than Alexander. They end up bonding one night when Nance discusses his career from being an unhappy shoe salesman to being the Vice President. He is also exposed to Ellen, whom he has to convince to hang around in order to maintain the ruse. Despite Ellen's cynicism, she is soon charmed by Dave's sincere desire to use his position to improve the nation.

Eventually Bob Alexander tries to destroy Kovic by exposing a scandal that implicates Mitchell and Nance. In a joint session of Congress, Kovic, as Mitchell, admits to his role in the scandal, but provides evidence proving that Alexander was the mastermind and that Nance was innocent. Kovic then fakes a stroke and is switched back with the still-comatose Mitchell. Mitchell is then declared incompetent under the 25th Amendment, and eventually dies. The groundswell of affection generated by the fake President is transferred to the real President, as the public and the media mourn his death, still unaware of the presumably illegal ruse that had been conducted when Dave was acting as President. Bob Alexander keeps quiet about it, presumably because exposing it would only serve to add more years to his prison sentence. Nance becomes President and promises to carry out Mitchell's (actually Kovic's) promise of a full-employment program.

In the movie's final scene, Kovic is running his own campaign for city council; Ellen Mitchell comes into the office and kisses him.

Spoilers end here.


[edit] Cast


In addition, several fictional segments from shows frequented by political junkies were created specifically for it, including The McLaughlin Group, The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno, and Larry King Live where Oliver Stone is interviewed by Larry King. Stone describes a conspiracy theory that turns out to accurately reflect the developments unfolding in the movie (see plot description above).

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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