Search - Dave [Widescreen/Fullscreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Situations, Suitable for Children, Profanity Movie Release: 1993 DVD Release: 04/29/1998 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 50 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Members Wishing: 0 Genres: Comedy, Americana, Political Satire See Also: Dave [Widescreen]

The ghost of Frank Capra must have smiled when he saw Dave, an amusing and effective update of one of Capra's favorite themes -- the scrupulously honest little guy who becomes a force for good against a corrupt system. Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline) runs an employment agency and seems to genuinely enjoy finding work for people who need it. He also bears a striking resemblance to the president of the United States, Bill Mitchell (also played by Kline) and occasionally gets work as a Bill Mitchell impersonator. One day, Dave gets a call from the Secret Service -- for security purposes, they want to hire him to act as a decoy for an upcoming appearance by the president. All goes well, but later that evening President Mitchell suffers a massive stroke while in bed with his mistress. Wanting to keep the matter a secret, two of the president's top advisors appeal to Dave to stand in as Bill Mitchell until he regains his health. One of the men behind this scheme, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hopes to use Mitchell's absence to promote his own right-wing political agenda, but after a few weeks "in office," Dave decides it's time to promote some changes of his own that will help increase employment and keep homeless shelters open. Dave also finds himself growing fond of Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver), the President's wife, while Ellen sees in Dave the idealism her husband left behind years ago. Dave features numerous cameo appearances by politicians, Washington insiders, and journalists; Oliver Stone also appears to explain a conspiracy theory regarding sudden changes in Bill Mitchell's behavior. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kevin Kline - Dave Kovic/Bill Mitchell
Sigourney Weaver - Ellen Mitchell
Frank Langella - Bob Alexander
Kevin Dunn - Alan Reed
Ving Rhames - Duane Stevenson
Ben Kingsley - Vice President Nance
Charles Grodin - Murray Blum

Ivan Reitman's smart romantic comedy Dave makes for a nice DVD, though there is nothing on it to get overly excited about. The image, probably the disc's strong point, includes both a full frame version and widescreen, which is framed at the theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is anamorphic. While far from a reference quality transfer, colors are nice and fleshtones look very realistic. The sound is completely adequate for a film like this, and utilizes a Dolby Digital surround track, that, needless to say, is centered up front. Some use of the side speakers creeps in, but it is the exception. As for supplemental features, there are some production notes and four theatrical trailers, plus a short six-minute featurette on the making of Dave that consists of as many scenes from the movie as actual interviews. It's a welcome addition, but not much more than a standard PR piece. Strangely enough, this brief documentary is only available on the full-frame side of the disc. Certainly worth renting, this is the kind of cute, fun film that appeals to all audiences. ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide