Werhesrkty May 12, 193 -The F' g- D Smw y i
Hail to Prez 'Dave'
By JOHN R. RYBOCK
Ivan Reitman can do no wrong.
Admittedly,thatisaprettybig claim,
Dave
Directed by Ivan Reitman; written by
Gary Ross; with Kevin Kline and
Sigourney Weaver
but his latest film, "Dave," does noth-
ing to dispel that notion.
" Dave"is the third,and best,of the
political comedies from the past year
(assuming, of course, that you con-
sider"BobRoberts"acomedy).Kevin
Kline stars as Dave, a near look-alike
of thepresident, whoisrecruitedtoact
as a body double in certain situations
(suchaswhenthePresidentisinahotel
with his mistress, and they need to
make it look like he is elsewhere).
After doing what was supposed to
be a one-time gig, Dave is recruited
into24-hourserviceaftertherealpresi-
dent suffers "aminor circulatory prob-
lemofthehead"duringanactofamour.
Hence, the pauper becomes a prince,
and the hilarity ensues.
Reitman made some good deci-
sions with this movie. It could have
easily been a"hick out of water"thing,
such as "The Distinguished Gentle-
man," where all the humor revolves
around the lead not knowing anything
about Washington. Dave knows as
much as the average person (though
that may not be saying much), and
much of the humor is derived from an
ordinaryguy, someonemanyofuscan
identify with, being put ina very ex-
traordinary position.
Kevin Kline, who proved his abil-
ity to do comedy in "A Fish Called
Wanda," is in top form. Dave is never
so innocent as to be nauseating; he is
simply a very nice, well-intentioned,
and likable guy.
ButKevinKlinecouldnot,byhim-
self,make this picture asfunasitis.He
is supported by an outstanding cast.
Sigourney Weaver, as the First Lady,
is wonderful throughout, though her
scenes as the ice queen are the best.
FrankLangellaisthechief-of-staffwho
seesDaveashispersonalpathtopower,
and though many of the laughs he gets
are due to staring in disbelief, he is the
quintessential power-hungry slime.
Other than the well crafted and
very convincing sets of the White
House, the touch which adds a true
sense of realism to the film are the
cameos-from television commenta-
tors Michael Kinsley and John
McLaughlin, to politicians, Republi-
can and Democrat alike, to celebrities,
most notably Oliver Stone with a per-
Kevin Kline takes comfort in the fact that he couldn't be a worse president than George Bush.
sonal conspiracy theory on switching foul taste in the mouths of the audi- The end is another victory for
presidents. ence. We can hazard a guess at the Reitman. "Dave" now belongs on the
Another note of credit for Ivan president's politics through his overly list of Reitman successes,rightnext to
Reitman: "Dave," for the most part, ambitious chief of staff, but there is no "Stripes," "Ghostbusters" and "Kin-
does not go for an easy anti-politician clear partisanship on the part of the dergarten Cop.""Dave" is like its title
slant. "DistinguishedGentleman"was filmmakers - every left-wing icon character-it'sanice,well-intentioned
about corruption and nothing else, and (Oliver Stone) is balanced by a famil- and likable movie.
"Bob Roberts"was so bitterly partisan iar face from the other side (Arnold DAVE isplayingatBriarwoodand
(though in a sarcastic way)that it left a Schwarzenegger). Showcase.
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