WHY CAN’T THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD HAVE THE THING HE WANTS MOST?

Widowed President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) falls for an environmental lobbyist (Annette Bening), but dating has political consequences for a man in his position.

Another charming romantic comedy from Rob Reiner, greatly aided by Aaron Sorkin’s idealistic, highly political but also amusing script; the writer’s fans will recognize the walk-and-talk sequences, sharp dialogue and his attention to detail in the portrait of the presidential office.

Douglas is solid as the Democratic commander-in-chief and Bening is perfectly cast as the confused but independent love interest; terrific supporting players. No big laughs, but engrossing and quite romantic.

1995-U.S. 113 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced and directed by Rob Reiner. Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin. Music: Marc Shaiman. Cast: Michael Douglas (Andrew Shepherd), Annette Bening (Sydney Ellen Wade), Martin Sheen (A.J. MacInerney), Michael J. Fox, Anna Deavere Smith, John Mahoney, Richard Dreyfuss. 

Trivia: Robert Redford came up with the original idea; he was slated to star, together with Emma Thompson, but bowed out. The replica of the Oval Office was also used in Dave (1993) and The West Wing (1999-2006).  

Last word: “Someone told me Keith Olbermann quoted The American President in some commentary he was doing. I love it. People tell me all the time, when it comes on television they get into it. It’s one of my favorite movies of the ones I’ve done, because it combines comedy and romance and also politics, which are a lot of the things I really like.” (Reiner, The Film Yap)