My Fellow Americans

My Fellow Americans (1996)

Director: Peter Segal

Writers: E. Jack Kaplan, Richard Chapman, Peter Tolan

Cast: Jack Lemmon, James Garner, Dan Aykroyd, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Lauren Bacall, Sela Ward, Everett McGill, Bradley Whitford, James Rebhorn

Synopsis:

Former U.S. Presidents and bitter political rivals Russell P. Kramer (Lemon) and Matt Douglas (Garner) are caught in the middle of a kickback scheme involving the current president, William Haney (Aykroyd). Lost in the wilderness, after a failed attempt to kill them,  Kramer and Douglas must learn to overcome their dislike of each other to uncover the conspiracy while dodging repeated attempts on their life by the insane Col Tanner (McGill). Hilarity ensues.

First Impressions:

I caught this film on home video and wasn't really aware of its existence before spotting it on the shelf at Blockbuster. I was acquainted with Lemon and Garner after watching them in Grumpy Old Men and Maverick, respectively, and this film seemed like a silly and fun diversion for a Sunday afternoon. Upon first viewing, I thought it was okay. It had some legitimate chuckle moments, but nothing laughing out loud. I only ended up buying the movie on DVD out of necessity, as I was trying to find a second film to take advantage of one of those 2 for $20 deals at HMV. It's been a very long time since I've seen this film (probably since I purchased it 15 years ago), so I'm interested to see how it holds up against my more "mature" sensibilities, as well as against the current political climate in North America.

Story/Direction: 

"Let's stop talking. We're about to bond. It'll make me vomit."

Based on the synopsis above, one could assume that My Fellow Americans is a taut political thriller rather than a goofy comedy. Much like The Man With One Red Shoe, I'm forced to wonder what the movie would have been like if it took itself seriously. The film has a fairly standard odd-couple premise with an American politics skin. There's nothing here that's terribly original, and it's all fairly well-trodden territory. Two guys that hate each other are forced to work together and eventually learn that they're not so different after all. Blah, blah, blah. Suffice to say, on the story front, there's nothing terribly great here.

What I did find interesting, though, is the stark differences between the political climate in 1996 and the one that we have today. It was fun to remember a time when the insults hurled between the supporters of opposing political parties were more good-natured ribbing rather than mean-spirited attacks. Of course, being set in the 90s, the viewers are treated to the standard partisan stereotypes common to the era. Republicans are cheap, and Democrats are womanizers and that sort of thing. The good-natured attitude of the jokes enabled the banter between Kramer and Douglas to work really well, and, honestly, it's the best part of the movie. It's also perhaps a bit of a lesson for how we interact with each other in modern life. The film shows us that even though Kramer and Douglas disagree on many issues, they're more alike than they realize. One of the more poignant aspects of the film's story is the fact that these are two men who served their country with distinction and are now left with their own sadness and disappointment or a country they feel abandoned them. It really showed me that society often forgets that politicians, like everybody else, are simply human beings and suffer from the same faults as the rest of us do. It;'s such an odd thing to pull from such a foolish movie but, here we are.

Acting:

If I'm going to talk about this movie's acting, I gotta talk about the two leads, Lemon and Garner, both legends in their own right. Lemon is a versatile actor that can shift easily between both comedy and drama. As mentioned above, I knew him mostly because of his role as Max Gustafson in the Grumpy Old Men Series. Here, he plays former president Kramer as a mostly oblivious, perennially confused old codger (a far cry from how most Republican politicians are portrayed nowadays). That confusion and obliviousness is often the jumping-off point for much of the film's humor, and Jack plays it to a tee.

Meanwhile, Garner definitely serves as the film's sarcastic straight man, with Kramer often being the target of Matt Douglas' sarcasm. The humor in this film is derived very much from the dialogue rather than slapstick (but there is some still in there), and for that type of humor to work, the leads need to have good chemistry. Garner does a great job at cracking barbs at Kramer and other Republicans but, despite his acerbic facade, there's still a vulnerability there that makes the character engaging.

The rest of the cast is solid, including Dan Aykroyd's arrogant President Haney, John Heard's Dan Quayle-like Vice President Matthews and Bradley Whitford's weasely Carl Witnaur. While the movie is mainly focused on Kramer and Douglas, the supporting cast has its fair share of moments.

Visual/Special Effects:

There are no real special effects to be found here apart from a solitary explosion. Nor is there anything p[particularly distinct in terms of the film's visual style. No point in dwelling in this section any further. Moving on...

Score/Music:

There really isn't much to write home about as far as this film's music goes. Much of the soundtrack is filled with contemporary music of the time and some more classic tracks. The original score, composed by William Ross, drew off the tune from Hail to the Chief and is pretty much unremarkable. It's not bad; it's just not memorable.

Action:

There's actually a bit more action in this movie than one might expect, including an escape from a moving train and a chase on horseback across the Whitehouse lawn. It's hard to judge a comedy too harshly on its action beats, but what little action this film had was done fairly well and often helped serve the humor. 

Final Verdict:

My initial impression of this film was, meh. Upon watching it again, my opinion is less indifferent. It's still not a comedy that will have you rolling in the aisles, but it's definitely worth a chuckle or two. Fans of Lemon and Garner may want to check it out. Likewise, anyone under the age of 35 that wants to see how different the political climate was back then may also enjoy it for a laugh. However, those lacking a sense of humor regarding their political views may want to give this one a pass.