Nobody-27 I just barely made it through this sorry excuse for a movie. I only watched it in hope that it just might get better, given the cast, who wrote it and so on. But it never delivered. Acting was all over the place, and that includes the two leads. Romance was nowhere to be found, and whatever little bit of romance was there was so uninspired, forced and political that it felt more like a courtroom drama than romance. And then there is the machine-gun dialogue: the non stop, rapid fire delivery of irrelevant stuff with such fake gusto one would think they all use to sell used cars just prior to starting to work on this film.All in all, I can hardly remember the time I was more disappointed in a movie that was more promising (again, given its crew). The biggest problem of course being that there is no believable romance in this romantic drama/comedy whatever it is. I'd give some examples of how bad it is, but you will have to watch it yourself to appreciate it. It left me so uninspired and tired that I can't even write about it. I just want to forget it, like a bad car accident I saw, and move on.

Mr-Fusion Even with Rob Reiner's name attached, "The American President" is an Aaron Sorkin movie; I don't mean just his superb dialogue, but it seems fair to say that it feels like "The West Wing" as a romantic comedy (i.e. right up my alley). The president's painted as an actual person, while still paying deference to the office. As political as this is, it's still a patriotic movie. The music swells at just the right moments, the ideas espoused have resonance, and you just get sucked into it.I'll be honest, with Martin Sheen in the cast, they could've gotten anyone to play the commander-in-chief and I'd still be a fan. But as Hollywood presidents go, Michael Douglas is a great one.7/10

luke-a-mcgowan The American President is Aaron Sorkin's fairy tale – and that isn't a good thing. Reports say that Robert Redford, who proposed the idea, fell out with director Rob Reiner after Reiner wanted to make Sorkin's script focus on politics instead of romance. Well if that's true, Reiner should have buffed up Sorkin's script a little more. This was the least convincing political movie I've ever seen. It focuses on President Michael Douglas and his romance with lobbyist Annette Bening. These two are thrown together so quickly and Sorkin hopes like mad that you forget that they've only met once or twice. While the idea of a dating President is intriguing enough for a movie, the execution was poor here, mostly because despite Reiner's focus on politics, the romance always wins in the eyes of the characters. In one charming yet excruciating scene, Douglas tells his advisors (who probably have urgent information) to wait while he orders flowers. Throughout the movie, his complete lack of political savvy at realising that his romance is not just his business had me almost screaming for impeachment. Bening is no better – we are told she is one of the highest paid lobbyists in Washington, but she spends almost all of her screen time flirting with the President and creating an enormous conflict of interest. Just because Sorkin's script acknowledges is does not make it okay. The only evidence we see of her skill are one-sided conversations with Congressmen that end on her terms with her desired outcome. Without any hurdles to her objective, we just have to take Sorkin's word for it that she's good. Its not all bad – Reiner's direction and Sorkin's script are both passable, creating moments that can be both dramatic and charming. A bantering phone conversation between Douglas and an unsuspecting Bening is irresistible. There are at least two very evocative monologues delivered during the film, as to be expected by Sorkin. The light and soaring musical score is used perfectly to create reverence for Oval Office and White House in general.Douglas is charming but I never bought him as a President, especially when placed next to the irreplaceable Martin Sheen (who would go on to play a far superior President Bartlett in the West Wing) as his Chief of Staff A. J. MacInernay (say that awful name five times fast). Michael J. Fox is excellent and delivers an exceptional performance when having a showdown with the President later in the film. An absolutely charming Bening is probably the film's highlight. My biggest problem with the American President is the completely biased portrayal of Republicans led by Richard Dreyfuss. Sorkin has never pretended to be tolerant of right wing opinion, but this sinks to a new low. The group sits around like a bunch of one-percenters, cigars and scotch in hand and gleefully rub their hands together like they're planning to kidnap Princess Peach. The group run rampant with nothing but negativity (as Sorkin perceives they do in real life) and then slink off defeated as soon as Douglas puts them in their place. It makes for a rather pathetic set of antagonists, and is certainly not a very fair depiction either.Whilst I'm convinced that this version is far better than the Redford version we might have seen, the soppy and rushed romance winning over political story made The American President a far less enjoyable experience than I had hoped.

SnoopyStyle President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is widowed and a single father of a teenage daughter. He falls head over heels for Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), a lobbyist for an environmental group. His relationship causes major headaches for his re-election chances.The romantic comedy part works very well. Director Rob Reiner knows exactly what he's doing. They are wonderful characters that make you fall in love with. For writer Aaron Sorkin, this is more or less a dry run for his iconic West Wing TV show. It's probably no accident that Martin Sheen is a major actor in this movie. It's a skillfully put together movie.But the issues being talked about, gun control and global warming, is just so dated. It is left wing talking points that clanks whenever they're mentioned. Even at the time, these issues were pushing the envelope. Also the politics just seems so naive compare to today. Where we ever so innocent? This was to respond to the election of Bill Clinton and the scrutiny that he got. Monica Lewinsky has even happened yet. This is a case of reality overwhelming make-believe.