My Fellow Americans (1996) Reviews

• Great Comedy!

  arno.f@hetnet.nl2004-09-22

  I have to say that I totally disagree with the last comment I read on this movie. I think it's a very funny, well acted comedy. I think I watched it about six times in the last four years and it never fails to crack me up, I've enjoyed it as much the last time as the first time. Jack Lemmon is a great comedy actor and so is James Garner. It splashes of the screen that they had fun playing their parts. They play very well of each other. The script may not be the best written script ever, but it certainly contains a whole bunch of very funny one-liners, as well as a good deal of visual comedy. The casting is good also the supporting roles from Jon Heard, Dan Aykroyd, Wilford Brimley and Lauren Baccal. All in all it is a very entertaining film, witch I recommend to anyone who is seeking for an evening of letting all tensions gliding of you and having many good laughs. On a scale 1-10, I give it an 8.

• The Missing Matthau / Lemmon film

  theowinthrop2005-08-06

  In the 1990s there were a slew of films in which Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau appeared together. The first two were GRUMPY OLD MEN, and it's sequel GRUMPIER OLD MEN, both of which had good box office. Then came THE GRASS HARP, which is technically one of their joint films, but is actually a dramatization of a fine novel by Truman Capote that had an excellent ensemble cast, and that only had one scene with the two actors together. OUT TO SEA was another Lemmon and Matthau romp, and finally came THE ODD COUPLE II, which was a weak (but amusing) sequel. Technically, between THE GRASS HARP and OUT TO SEA there was to be this film. It was to star Matthau as a Democratic ex-President, whose one term in office was following the one term of his rival, Republican ex-President Lemmon, and both would be followed by Republican incumbent Dan Ackroyd. But Matthau could not be in the film, presumably due to health problems. Instead, his role was filled in by James Garner. Although one likes watching the chemistry of Matthau and Lemmon in their comedies, the substitution of Garner is probably for the best. Garner's character is like Bill Clinton or John Kennedy, a ladies' man type. In fact, his wife is divorcing him during the film (we only see her briefly when he is elected President). Somehow Matthau could not have fit that type of role. The 1990s also saw several pictures that tackled the problems of the Presidency. The best of these was THE American PRESIDENT, wherein Michael Douglas tries to balance his job's duties, with his performance ratings, and his falling in love with a woman whose political agenda can be used to bash him (Annette Benning). There was also DAVE, which was a variation on an old Akim Tamiroff film THE MAGNIFICENT FRAUD, wherein a double (KEVIN KLINE) finds he must continue to play the role of the President when the President (who is corrupt) has a devastating stroke. There the double finds himself falling in love with the First Lady (SIGOURNEY WEAVER - who reciprocates), and fighting an unscrupulous, power-hungry chief of staff (FRANK LANGELLA). MY FELLOW Americans fits in with this pair of films in continuing the trend. Lemmon wins his term as President by defeating his Democratic rival Garner. But four years later Garner defeats incumbent Lemmon. But four years after that Garner is defeated by Lemmon's former Vice President Ackroyd. In the third year of his term, Ackroyd is told by his chief of staff, Bradley Whitford (ironically a member on the television series THE WEST WING currently), that a major financial scandal involving Ackroyd is about to be revealed, and will finish him politically. Ackroyd and Whitford decide to kill the scandal by framing Lemmon for taking the bribes involved. But Lemmon is tipped off about the scandal by news reporter Sela Ward (seeking an exclusive), and Garner learns of it from Democratic Party head Wilfrid Brimley (and encouraged to check into it with the possibility of being renominated for the Presidency again). When the key man in the scandal is shot and killed by a rogue CIA man (Everett McGill, in an exceptionally good, creepy performance), the lives of the two ex-Presidents are in danger. They are forced to join forces to prove Ackroyd's perfidy. They are also forced to confront each other and their own failings. The reason the film works is it forces the audience to think of what is wrong with the political system. The initial ten minutes, with it's rapid turnover of one term Presidents, mouthing the typical clichés, reminds us that our leaders (with rare exceptions) rarely do more than protect their political hides by not doing anything that would really rock things. This is similar to the situation in THE American PRESIDENT where Douglas will not confront his Republican rival, Richard Dreyfus, who is questioning the influence of Benning on the President's policies, and who is willing to make a deal to pass some cosmetic, worthless "crime bill" instead of tackling the pro-gun lobby. In MY FELLOW Americans the moment of truth is when both ex-Presidents learn that their mediocre policies cost a nice family their job and their home. Garner finally shows how fed up he is, towards the end, when he tells Lemmon that he is sick of thinking of how little he really accomplished in the four years he was President, and how he wants to demolish Ackroyd's corrupt administration because it is what the starry eyed believers of Democracy expect their Presidents to do. The cast was quite in the film, but one wishes Lauren Bacall had had more scenes with Lemmon (her husband in the movie), and that Esther Rolle had been in a few more scenes as the White House cook. But otherwise it is a good Garner/Lemmon comedy, even though it was to have been a Matthau/Lemmon film.

• Kings Among the Commoners

  urthmothr2004-05-17

  My husband and I both love this movie, for a number of reasons. 1. We are fans of James Garner in particular, and Jack Lemmon also. As other reviewers have noted, they play off each other extremely well. 2. In NJ, we have two former (rival)governors who share a political column. Every time I see this movie, I think of the column, where they share a grudging respect somewhat like the characters in the movie. 3. None of the reviewers have said much about the "king among the commoners" theme. During their cross-country trek, the two former Presidents find out who their "fellow Americans" REALLY are - illegal immigrants, homeless families looking for a job, gay security guards, etc., etc. That's what this movie's REALLY all about. -Earth Mother

• Presidents Dumb and Dumber...

  Mister-62000-04-09

  So many professional actors, so much sophomoric humor. You gotta love it. "My Fellow Americans" features Jack Lemmon and James Garner as ex-presidents on the run when they discover a cover-up with the present Chief of Staff (Dan Aykroyd) in the middle. This isn't a movie anyone's going to take seriously, and well they shouldn't. There are lots of moments here that will elicit a laugh or two, maybe three. And what plot there is whizzes by at such a fast pace that there's more time to concentrate on the guffaws. Lemmon and Garner play their parts as you'd expect. That they go the dumb route is no surprise; in fact, it makes their presence here all the more entertaining. Aykroyd basically plays the heavy here, so there's no real chance for him to generate any laughs. A shame, since he's usually so good at that. Then there's the fact that real gems like Bacall and Brimley and Ward are just given throw-away parts; it's good to see them, of course, but you'd figure they'd have more to do (especially Bacall!!). Kudos, though, to John Heard as the dim-witted Vice President. Some of the biggest laughs in this movie (for me) came from him. His eulogy at the funeral scene early in the movie always makes me laugh out, as does his pithy observations such as "Hey, a hat!". Beats me why he isn't in more movies. As I said, the laughs are there, and if you demand nothing more from a comedy than to laugh, you'll want to do your political duty and rent "My Fellow Americans" - the one movie that insults both parties equally. Seven stars, plus one extra for putting up an excellent "fakade".

• My Fellow Americans: 8/10

  movieguy10212002-11-29

  Jack Lemmon and James Garner are in top comedic form in My Fellow Americans. They, respectively, play former President Russell Kramer (Republican) and former President Matt Douglas (Democrat), who have spent the last thirty years hating each others guts. "It's always sad when another good Democrat dies," Douglas says to a Secret Service Agent while on the way to the funeral. "I believe that the deceased was a Republican, sir," he replies. To that, Douglas says, "Oh. Then this might not be so bad." The current President, Haney (Dan Aykroyd) took kickback while Kramer was president. And Haney's trying to pin them on Kramer. Kramer and Douglas both know about it and Haney's going to try to kill them. When that proves unsucessful, Kramer and Douglas end up stranded alone in the middle of nowhere. So the two people, who loathe each other, must work together to tell thier fellow Americans while seeing the effect of their presidency on the general people. There are too many political movies. There aren't many political comedies. There are even less raunchy political comedies. In fact, it seems that My Fellow Americans should have been raunchier to warrant an R rating. Peter Segal wanted it to be ribald, but it would have been easier to write for if they didn't have an PG-13 rating in mind, so they could open up the humor a little. I really like the two leads. They had great chemistry together, I thought they actually hated each other. Lemmon and Garner had a great sense of comedic timing. The movie knew it was a comedy, but tried to take itself in a serious way, which has a great result. Other characters, however, pop up and then leave. Kay Griffin (Sela Ward), the reporter, has about two scenes, and Ben just pops up out of nowhere. It was extremely funny. Its raunch mixed in with tries-to-take-it-serious humor: "Now, if you'll excuse me, my salad's getting cold." I can't really think of anything else to say. My Fellow Americans is very funny with great leads. Look for it! My rating: 8/10 Rated PG-13 for salty language and innuendo.