Dave (film)

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, Ben Kingsley
Music by	James Newton Howard
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	May 7, 1993
Running time	110 min.
Language	English
Box office	$63,270,710 (Domestic)[1]

Dave is a 1993 comedy-drama movie written by Gary Ross, directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, Tom Dugan, and Laura Linney. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay which is based on Anthony Hope's novel The Prisoner of Zenda. There are also plot similarities to Mark Twain's 1881 novel The Prince and the Pauper, as well as George M. Cohan's 1932 film The Phantom President, Robert Heinlein's 1956 novel Double Star, Akira Kurosawa's 1980 film Kagemusha and Paul Mazursky's 1988 Richard Dreyfuss/Raul Julia film Moon over Parador. Kline's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Plot

Dave Kovic (Kline) runs a temporary employment agency in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and, as a side job, makes appearances impersonating President William Harrison "Bill" Mitchell (also portrayed by Kline), whom he greatly resembles, at events such as car lot and supermarket openings.

To his surprise, he is approached by Secret Service agent Duane Stevenson (Ving Rhames) with a request to make an appearance as the President at a hotel where he is making a speech. Dave assumes it is a matter of security, but it is really to cover up Mitchell's extramarital affair with White House staffer Randi (Laura Linney).

Mitchell suffers a severe stroke during that night's liaison, leaving him in a coma. White House Chief of Staff Bob Alexander (Frank Langella) and Communications Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn) convince Dave to continue in his role impersonating the President. They tell Dave that Vice President Gary Nance (Ben Kingsley) is mentally unbalanced and the country needs his assistance, but in actuality Bob doesn't want the Vice President in power because Nance's good nature and honesty will prevent Bob from achieving his own agenda. Only Bob, Alan, the Secret Service, and the medical staff tending to Mitchell know of the switch. Mitchell's wife, First Lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), lives a mainly separate life, despises her husband and sees little of him.

The public is notified that Mitchell has had a "minor circulatory problem of the head." With Dave established as president, Bob and Alan send the Vice President on a goodwill tour of Africa and plan to implicate him in a savings and loan fraud that Bob and Bill Mitchell perpetrated. Once Nance is forced to resign, Bob plans for Dave to nominate him as vice president, whereupon "Mitchell" will have a far more serious stroke and Bob will ascend to the presidency.

Dave's enthusiasm revives Mitchell's popularity, as commented on by numerous well-known media personalities and U.S. Senators and Representatives who make cameo appearances in the film. Dave visits a homeless shelter with the First Lady, who does not understand why he has taken a sudden interest in her project. Bob falsifies President Mitchell's veto of a works bill that funds the shelter and others, ostensibly for budget reasons. Dave has his accountant friend Murray Blum (Charles Grodin) help him rewrite the federal budget so that the project may be reinstated after the First Lady confronts Dave about the veto.

The First Lady suspects that "Mitchell" is not really her husband, and tricks Dave into revealing the switch. When Dave shows her the real Bill Mitchell on life support in the White House basement, she and Dave both decide to secretly leave the White House. However, after a night out on the town in which they realize all the good they could do in their roles, they decide to return and turn the tables on Bob.

Dave blackmails Bob into resigning, and announces a jobs bill to create employment for every American who wants work. Nance returns from Africa and confronts Dave about linking him to the savings and loan scandal when he knows Nance had nothing to do with it; Dave realizes Bob and Alan have misled him about Nance. Bob, hoping to boost his presidency campaign, reveals Mitchell's involvement in the savings and loan scandal. Nance tells Dave he thinks the jobs initiative is a wonderful idea, but that the scandal will make it difficult to pass. Wanting to know how the Vice President got started, Dave learns that Nance had been a shoe salesman before his wife convinced him to run for city council. Dave talks with Ellen about how Nance is a good man; Ellen, realizing what Dave is planning, realizes she doesn't want to lose Dave for she has fallen for him.

In a joint session of Congress, Dave admits to Mitchell's role in the scandal, but introduces evidence provided by Alan, proving that Bob was the mastermind and Nance was not involved. While making the speech, Dave fakes a stroke and makes a pre-arranged switch with the real Bill Mitchell in an ambulance taking him to the hospital. Nance becomes acting president and is sworn in as the President of the United States five months later when Mitchell finally dies; he announces he will continue the push for Dave's jobs initiative. Bob Alexander and other members of the Mitchell administration are indicted on various charges on the day the jobs initiative passes.

Back at his old job, Dave decides to runs for city council. As his campaign gathers steam, Ellen Mitchell arrives to reunite with him. Duane, now on Dave's campaign team, stands guard outside the office door as they kiss.

Cast

Cast

• Kevin Kline as Dave Kovic/President William Harrison (Bill) Mitchell
• Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Mitchell
• Frank Langella as Bob Alexander
• Kevin Dunn as Alan Reed
• Ving Rhames as Duane Stevenson
• Ben Kingsley as Vice President Gary Nance
• Tom Dugan as Jerry
• Charles Grodin as Murray Blum
• Faith Prince as Alice
• Laura Linney as Randi
• Stephen Root as Don Durenberger
• Bonnie Hunt as White House Tour Guide
• Anna Deavere Smith as Mrs. Travis
• Charles Hallahan as Policeman
• Stefan Gierasch as House Majority Leader

Cameos

Political figures

• Senator Christopher Dodd (D — Connecticut, retired in 2011)
• Senator Tom Harkin (D — Iowa)
• Frank Mankiewicz (former Presidential campaign director for Robert F. Kennedy and George McGovern)
• Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D — Ohio, has since died)
• Abner J. Mikva (retired federal judge and Congressman, D — Illinois, played the Chief Justice who swears Nance in as President)
• Speaker of the House Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill (D — Massachusetts, retired by the time the film was released, has since died)
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (At the time, he had not run for any office; now former Governor (R — California), but had served as chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush).
• Senator Paul Simon (D — Illinois, has since died)
• Senator Alan Simpson (R — Wyoming, now retired)

Media personalities

• Frederic W. Barnes
• Eleanor Clift
• Bernard Kalb
• Larry King
• Michael Kinsley
• Morton Kondracke
• Jay Leno
• Chris Matthews
• John McLaughlin
• Robert D. Novak
• Richard Reeves
• Ben Stein
• Oliver Stone
• Kathleen Sullivan
• Jeff Tackett
• Helen Thomas
• Nina Totenberg
• Sander Vanocur
• John Yang

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

Extras

Many members of the Virginia General Assembly and visitors to the Virginia State Capitol were used as extras during filming.

Box office

Dave debuted No. 2 at the Box office, behind Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.^[2][3]

See also

• King Ralph
• Moon Over Parador
• The Prisoner of Zenda
• The Phantom President
• Kagemusha
• Double Star
• The Prince and the Pauper
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• Look-alike
• Impersonation
• Body double
• Doppelgänger
• Political decoys

Legacy

One of the memorable quotes from the film was that by the White House tour guide (played by Hunt), who was saying, "And we're walking, and we're walking..."^[4] as she was leading a group of visitors. This has since become a cliché expression for speaking like a tour guide (or similar escort such as a curator or realtor), as recently seen on a Progressive Insurance TV commercial.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Dave at Box Office Mojo". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dave.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-29. 
2. ^ "Bruce' and 'Dave's' Excellent Box Office". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-11/business/fi-33955_1_bruce-lee. Retrieved 2010-10-26. 
3. ^ "Weekend Box Office : 'Dragon' Makes 'Dave' Vice President". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-11/entertainment/ca-34129_1_weekend-gross. Retrieved 2011-01-06. 
4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106673/quotes
5. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqxr_wcKfNI

External links

• Dave (1993) - Screenplays for You
• Dave at the Internet Movie Database
• Dave at AllRovi
• Dave at Box Office Mojo
• Dave at Rotten Tomatoes