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The American President (1995)

PG-13  |   |  Comedy, Drama, Romance  |  17 November 1995 (USA)
6.8
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Ratings: 6.8/10 from 41,160 users   Metascore: 67/100
Reviews: 209 user | 75 critic | 21 from Metacritic.com

Comedy-drama about a widowed U.S. president and a lobbyist who fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception" and sparks fly anyway.

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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 9 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

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Storyline

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. Written by garykmcd

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Why can't the most powerful man in the world have the one thing he wants most?

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some strong language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

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Language:

|

Release Date:

17 November 1995 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Mi querido presidente  »

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,132,043 (UK) (15 December 1995)

Gross:

£2,628,944 (UK) (19 January 1996)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| | |

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few rare PG-13 movies allowed to keep its PG-13 rating despite the use of the word "fuck" three times (all within 15 minutes of each other), but none used in sexual context. See more »

Goofs

At the State Dinner, the French President is talking face to the camera, while the audience can watch Sydney's turning her ring around the finger - a second later, the camera shows Sydney in front, still listening to the President's story, but keeps her hands straight now. See more »

Quotes

President Andrew Shepherd: Sorry to keep you waiting.
Sydney Ellen Wade: Mister President...
President Andrew Shepherd: Is it all right if I call you Sydney?
Sydney Ellen Wade: Of course, Mister President.
President Andrew Shepherd: Have you ever been in the oval office?
Sydney Ellen Wade: Uh... I've just been on the regular tour. It didn't include...
President Andrew Shepherd: I hear its pretty good.
Sydney Ellen Wade: Mister President, what you saw in there was nothing more than vanity run a muck. I was showing off for a colleague who doesn't think very much of me. It would be a real injustice for you to hold the GDC accountable for my behavior today. On top of which, I am...
[...]
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Connections

Features Woman of the Year (1942) See more »

Soundtracks

Deck the Halls
(uncredited)
Traditional
Performed by Nat 'King' Cole
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User Reviews

The thinking woman's Pretty Woman
10 July 2003 | by (kansas city, mo) – See all my reviews

I don't mean that as a slam. I like Pretty Woman a lot, too. But this movie is my "cure for all ills" movie. The one I throw in the DVD player on rainy Sunday afternoons and crack out my best junk food. And the political setting seems to give it more meat.

Michael Douglas is perfect. Annette Benning is perfect (and I would give anything to look as beautiful as she does in that blue dress at the State Dinner). Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Anna Devoure Smith. People being passionate about each other and about important issues and about doing the right thing. Everything about this movie lifts me up when I'm feeling down.

I'm not a liberal, and I'm not a conservative - I fall somewhere in the middle. My beliefs in gun control to not include "(getting) the guns". But this movie is so good - that I can look past the occasional differences in political views. Those views are presented in a smart, thoughtful and constructive manner - and I appreciate them even though they are not my own.

I enjoy this movie for what it is - a sweet, smart, funny movie set in one of the most "romantic" settings in the world - The White House.


5 of 6 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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