Nov. 29, 2004 - 2:19 pm

cover
Dave (1993)

sometimes my mom and i talk about movies and she asks whether or not Jill has seen that one. this was one that my mom told Jill that she had to watch, so we added it to our list and it finally rolled around. it had probably been like 5 years or so since i had seen it, so i was sort of watching it with fresh eyes this time, having voted in my first 2 presidential elections since the last time i saw it.

Dave is about Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) who happens to look exactly like the President of the United States. he sometimes does impersonations at special events to make some extra cash. one day the Secret Service requests that he make an appearance pretending to be the President in order to keep the President safe. the problem is that the same night the President has a major stroke and goes into a coma. a couple of senior advisors decide that they can run the government using Dave as a puppet president, and the Chief of Staff plans to take office himself after an intense plan of deception. the problem is that Dave happens to be very good at being the President; even better than the real President was.

it's a very smart script and was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Kevin Kline also does a wonderful job as Dave and makes it easy to see how the American public could be so accepting of him and his policies.

speaking of Oscars, what do you think is going to win any Oscars this year? the only ideas i have so far are Ray and Finding Neverland. frankly, i think 2004 has been a rather bland year at the movies. great year to sit at home and watch old movies because nothing that great has come out. i am still hopeful for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou though. we'll see how that goes. at least it's coming out at an Oscar-feasible time. looks like the wider release date is Christmas Day.