Not a political satire or send-up or portrait--just another romantic comedy which happens to be set in the White House. The Democratic US President, a handsome widower with a teenage daughter who is up for re-election, finds his poll numbers dropping after meeting and dating an attractive environmental lobbyist. The Republican candidate (a slimy worm!) combats what is left of the president's reputation with mud-slinging (seems the president's new lady-friend was present at a rally some 17 years ago where an American flag was burned). Commercial, star-laden effort works in some politics but is mostly interested in the romance, peppered with lightly comic asides. One question prevails: why are the President's approval ratings dropping? We hear one woman's worries that the poor First Daughter appears caught in the middle of his new relationship, but that isn't (or shouldn't be) enough to satisfy us. Aaron Sorkin's screenplay is pure fluff; even the dramatic points he hopes to make--such as a bungled metaphor about people following a mirage in the desert--are noodle-soft. In the leads, Michael Douglas and Annette Bening share a very nice chemistry, and they're surrounded by a wonderful assortment of acting talent, but the political arena director Rob Reiner gives us simply isn't persuasive. **1/2 from ****
Review of The American President
