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Features: DVD, Pan and Scan (TV Format), French, Spanish, Subtitled, Behind the Scenes Footage, Trailers
Just who runs this country anyway? For comedy fans, the answer is...Dave... Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, In & Out) and Sigourney Weaver (Working Girl, Ghostbusters) star in this box-office winner about an uncanny Presidential lookalike named Dave, who's recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States. However, things don't turn out exactly as planned and Dave finds himself continuing his masquerade as Chief Executive indefinitely. Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters and 6 Days, 7 Nights) directs and supporting players Frank Langella, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley and Charles Grodin supply more reasons to stand up and cheer. Many real-life politicos and pundits join the fun as Dave uses ordinary-guy savvy to deal with the extraordinary responsibilities of the Oval Office.
"Dave [is]...wonderful lighthearted entertainment... " Roger Ebert
"...winning cast..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
Editor's Note
A presidential look-alike finds himself in the oval office "filling in" for the president who has fallen ill. Lacking the political savvy of the real president, "Dave" proceeds to govern the country with a refreshingly straight-forward approach. Academy Award Nominations: Best (Original) Screenplay.
Plot Summary
Judging by their looks, conservative United States President Bill Mitchell and liberal minded temp-agency owner Dave Kovic could be identical twins separated at birth. When two Secret Service agents, at Chief-of-Staff Bob Alexander's request, clandestinely draft Dave into servicing his country by temporarily standing-in for President Mitchell, the carefree humanitarian gladly answers his call to duty. After all, as the President's look-alike Dave has aped austere Mitchell before.| Luckily, the plan goes off without a hitch. But in an ironic twist of fate, President Mitchell is incapacitated, leaving Dave in a political hot-spot. Once Dave takes the extraordinary opportunity to implement progressive programs, reduce the national deficit and significantly effect social change, he nearly overturns Mitchell's reactionary administration, even as the very handlers begin conspiring against him.
| Features | Widescreen/Standard Formats | | Spanish Subtitles | | French Subtitles | | English Dolby Surround Stereo | | French Version | | Spanish Version | | English Subtitles | | Theatrical Trailers | | Scene Access | | English Version | | Behind-The-Scenes Featurette | | Interactive Menus | | Production Notes |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 9/27/2005 |
| Running Time: 110 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1993 | | Catalog ID: 12962 | | UPC: 00085391296225 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 2.35:1/4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1994) | | | Gary Ross, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen | |
Golden Globe (1994) | | | Kevin Kline, Nominee, Best Performance By An Actor In A Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical |
| Memorable Quotes| Alan Simpson who appears in a cameo and Bill Clinton agree that the movie "kind of gives you a warm feeling." ---- Jeff Giles, NEWSWEEK 5/10/1993 | | "I basically make grand entertainments...I hate pretentious filmmaking." Director Ivan Reitman on "Dave." ---- Jeff Giles, NEWSWEEK, 5/10/1993 | | "In `Dave,' he would basically let me do what I wanted...Then he would ask me to do what he saw. Then he would say, `Do what you want.' In those takes after his directon, I could satisfy both of us." Sigourney Weaver talking about director Ivan Reitman. ---- Randall Rothenberg, NEW YORK TIMES, 5/2/1993 |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Bright and buoyant....[Kline] brings wit and presence to his dual role..." 05/07/1993 p.C12Rolling Stone
"...A winner....Kline is a comic marvel..." 06/10/1993 p.55-6 Variety
"...Delightful, buoyant....[Ross] and director Ivan Reitman have done a masterful job, crafting a near-perfect movie by realizing its simple goals with panache, political savvy and ample warmth and humor..." 04/26/1993 Entertainment Weekly
"...Kline has grown into a masterful sly comedian....He does a deadpan star turn..." 05/14/1993 p.36-7 Chicago Sun-Times
"...One of the movie's charms is the way it toys with our expectations..." 05/07/1993 p.45 Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
When I first heard this story line, I imagined that Dave would be completely predictable. I was wrong. The movie is more proof that it isn't what you do, it's how you do it: Ivan Reitman's direction and Gary Ross' screenplay use intelligence and warmhearted sentiment to make Dave into wonderful lighthearted entertainment... The president is played by Kevin Kline, who also plays good old Dave Kovic, a man who cannot rest when one of his clients needs a job. He's thrilled when he's asked to stand in for the president, and enjoys the experience immensely (who would not enjoy getting a standing ovation simply for existing?). But when Mitchell has his stroke, the White House chief of staff, an evil genius played by Frank Langella, decides not to turn over the reins of power to the vice president (kind, decent Ben Kingsley) but instead to use Dave Kovic as a permanent front man... The plot unfolds with elements that would be at home in a Frank Capra movie, which Reitman crosses here with some sly political satire. But the heart of the film is really the relationship between Dave and the first lady, who wander about their cavernous and lonely quarters in the White House like a couple of moonstruck teenagers. Both Kline and Weaver are good at playing characters of considerable intelligence, and that's the case here. The movie may be built on subtle variations of the Idiot Plot (in which the characters skillfully avoid tripping over obvious conclusions), but they bring such particular qualities to their characters that we almost believe them. We also almost believe the way the movie resolves everything; there's poetic justice in the way both private and public agendas are fulfilled... - Roger Ebert
Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 8 of 10
Shades of Prisoner Of Zenda! U. S. president, incapacitated by stroke, is replaced by look-alike (and everyman) Kline, who proceeds to win over the press, public, and even the president's estranged wife (Weaver) in this amusing political comedy. Farfetched premise made believable by winning cast and cameos by celebrities, real reporters, and actual U. S. senators!
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