My Fellow Americans
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My Fellow Americans was a 1996 movie starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner in the title roles. Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Wilford Brimley, and Jeff Yagher among others also starred in this film.
Originally Lemmon's perennial collaborator, Walter Matthau, was slated to co-star. However, health problems kept Matthau from appearing in the film and James Garner was instead chosen to appear opposite Lemmon.
Synopsis
Former United States Presidents Russell P. Kramer (Lemmon), and Matthew Douglas (Garner) had spent the past 30 years hating each others guts. The movie starts out with the Republican Ohio Senator Kramer winning defeating Democrat Indiana Governor Douglas in the Presidential election. We hear Kramer's trademark speech, "Our dreams are like our children." The film then skips forward four years, to Douglas' defeat of the incumbent Kramer. Then it skips forward another four years, to the point where Kramer's former Vice President William Haney (Aykroyd) defeats Douglas. Haney's Vice President Ted Matthews (John Heard) is widely seen as an idiot (similar to Dan Quayle.) By the end of his first term, Douglas is well known for his infidelity, (similar to Bill Clinton). Finally it skips ahead three years.
At this point, Kramer is spending most of his time writing a large number of books, and speaking at various functions. Kramer continues to use the "Our dreams our like our children" line at every opportunity. Douglas is in New York, putting the finishing touches to his own book. Douglas is also going through a divorce. Kramer and Douglas are sent to a funeral by Haney, and spend almost the entire trip arguing with each other.
Soon, the Democrats find out about Olympia, a series of kickbacks to a defense contractor organised by Haney when he was Vice-President. Joe Hollis (Brimley) encourages Douglas to investigate further whilst Haney and his Chief of Staff, Carl Witnaur (Bradley Whitford, who appears in The West Wing in a similar role), plot to have Kramer take the blame. Hollis tells Douglas that the Democrats would support him if he wanted to run for office again. When the rumors of Olympia begin to suggest that Kramer was involved, Kramer begins his own investigation.
At this point, the contractor who was involved in the kickback becomes very nervous. The NSA Chief, Colonel Paul Tanner (Everett McGill), arranges to assassinate the contractor. White House officials then take both former Presidents on Marine One, and tell them that Haney wants to see them at Camp David. Some way in to the flight, it turns out the helicopter is heading south, to what would later be revealed as North Carolina. Douglas realizes something is very wrong, then he and Kramer force the pilots to land the helicopter. They leave just before the plane explodes.
Kramer and Douglas are left in the middle of nowhere. They decide to go to Kramer's Library in Ohio to obtain a record the penny-pinching Kramer kept of all meals served during his time in the White House, which will prove Haney was present at a key meeting with the contractor. During a series of misadventures, the two ex-Presidents meet a variety of ordinary Americans and see the effects their terms in office have had. After several close encounters with NSA agents, they arrive in Ohio and discover there is no evidence. Douglas and Kramer now kidnap Witnaur and take him to Hollis' home, where he reveals the full plot to blame Kramer for Olympia. But Wwitnaur knows nothing about the assassination of the contractor, and the attempts to kill the Presidents, which was all Tanner's doing. Hollis arranges for Douglas and Kramer to meet with a journalist to tell their story, but they decide to go straight to the White House to confront Haney directly.
Colonel Tanner knows the two ex-Presidents will be coming to the White House and imposes strict security. Douglas and Kramer slip through with the help of a cook (Esther Rolle). They make it through to the Oval Office only to discover Haney is giving a press conference in the gardens, and the story of their deaths in a helicopter crash has been released to the press. The NSA has them trapped, which was Tanner's plan. However, they use a secret tunnel to exit the White House. They ride horses through the grounds to get to Haney, pursued by the NSA, police and security. The two are finally saved when a police sniper decides to disobey orders to shoot them, and instead shoots Tanner, who is himself about to shoot the ex-Presidents.
Arriving in the middle of the press conference, Kramer and Douglas are reluctantly welcomed by Haney, and tell him they need to talk. Back in the Oval office, they play him a tape of his chief of staff's confession. Haney agrees to resign, whilst Douglas and Kramer are introduced to the sniper who saved them, who turns out to be a gay man who they had encountered ealier in the film. As Haney delivers his resignation speech, Kramer and Douglas muse on Matthews' elevation to the post. They realise that the only way he could have become President was if something like this happen. When they confront him, he admits the truth, thinking he's now safe and explaining that his apparent stupidity is really just a "fakade" [sic]. Kramer and Douglas have the last laugh, recording his admission for later release to the press and landing Matthews in a Federal Prison.
The film ends nine months later, with Matthews being sent to prison and Douglas and Kramer, running on the same ticket as independents in the Presidential election, arguing which of them is nominee for President.
Although the movie was released in 1996, the presidential succession of Kramer, Douglas and Haney eerily resembles that of Bush, Clinton and W. Bush.
Reviews
My Fellow Americans had mainly mixed reviews. For example, Roger Ebert gave the film 2 1/2 stars. His review of the film was mixed. Ebert felt the film had missed opportunities, and was made up of cheap shots.