Search - The American President on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 1995 DVD Release: 08/31/1999 Format: DVD - Color,Letterbox for TV Edition: Director's Cut Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, French SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 55 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Comedy, Romance, Romantic Comedy See Also: The American President [Mother's Day Gift Set], The American President [Widescreen]

This earnest, intelligent, and well-written romantic comedy is enjoyable and optimistic in classic Hollywood style, even if its idealism doesn't seem quite so credible against the cynical political backdrop of the Nineties. President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), an unabashedly liberal Democrat, is just gearing up for re-election when he meets an attractive and sharp environmental lobbyist named Sydney Wade (Annette Bening). The two fall in love and the President must soon deal with the political repercussions (Sydney is trying to get legislation through Congress), as well as the cynical machinations of Republican opponent Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), who attempts to paint Sydney as a radical and use "family values" rhetoric to smear Shepherd. With the attacks affecting his standings in the all-important polls, and his love's legislation causing him headaches in the Capitol, Shepherd must decide whether he can risk continuing his relationship. A rich supporting cast, solid characterizations by Douglas and Bening, and an articulate approach make this an appealing, if not particularly weighty, study of the tensions between public and private life. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Michael Douglas - President Andrew Shepherd
Annette Bening - Sydney Ellen Wade
Martin Sheen - A.J. MacInerney
Michael J. Fox - Lewis Rothschild
David Paymer - Leon Kodak
Richard Dreyfuss - Senator Bob Rumson

Rob Reiner's politically tinged romantic comedy The American President comes to DVD with a widescreen 1.85:1 transfer that faithfully reproduces the original theatrical aspect ratio. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are available in either English or French. By-the-numbers extra features include trailers, filmographies of the cast and crew, and pedestrian production notes. One wonders how Aaron Sorkin would compare his screenplay for the film to his Emmy-winning work on The West Wing. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide