Chillin' in the 90's: Hail to the Dave

The 90's were a great decade for film. Terminator 2, Stargate, The Fifth Element, 12 Monkeys, Gattaca, The Rock, The Hunt for Red October, Saving Private Ryan, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, The Big Lebowski, Apollo 13, several solid Shakespeare adaptations...need I go on? Are you not convinced? Great decade!

One of many perks of visiting the in-laws is their mad wicked movie collection, which includes a large number of films from the 90's that aren't old enough to be considered classics, and haven't attained cult status, and, therefore, are largely forgotten by everyone who didn't see them when they first came out - which means that they will most certainly not be found at the friendly neighbourhood Blockbuster. Which means that, if I want to see them, I have to either buy them, or find someone who actually owns them. Enter Glenn and Kathy!

The first of these marvelous 90's films that I've recently watched for the first time is Dave (1993), a comedy/drama starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver and featuring a brief but notable contribution by Sir Ben Kingsley, back before he was a Sir. The plot, on paper, sounds awfully ludicrous, and that's because it is. When the president of the U.S.A. - a necessarily cold-hearted, womanizing bastard who cares nothing for social programs - suffers a massive stroke during one of his trysts, his ambitious chief of staff and go-with-the-flow communications director decide to keep it quiet by hiring a look-a-like to impersonate the president, effectively putting themselves in charge of a puppet government. Enter Dave Kovic (Kline), a friendly, gentle, temp agency owner who's both a dead ringer and a good actor. Dave is as unaware of the president's condition as everyone else, and at first thinks he's only filling in for the president at events the Secret Service deems too risky for the actual commander-in-chief. Unfortunately for the chief of staff, Dave isn't an idiot - and neither is the First Lady (Weaver). When she quickly figures out that her husband has changed, and confronts Dave, they end up working together to foil misplaced ambition and correct - as well as atone for - the president's sins.

Dave works because both writer Gary Ross and director Ivan Reitman (a man with a crazy wierd resume, but that's another story) refuse to ice their concept with added drama. As mentioned, both Dave and the First Lady are intelligent, discerning people - no "Gasp! I've been had!" or "Oops! I accidentally saved the day! Lucky me!" moments for them. The negatively ambitious chief of staff understands the hole he's dug himself into, and attempts to take Dave down by going public with the president's involvement in a S&L scandal - a very normal, realistic scenario for when this was written. Dave and the First Lady form a mutual attraction, but deal with it in a very mature fashion, and don't make it wierd by acting on their feelings, because hey! her husband's in a coma, someone's impersonating him, and this is all a bit much for a woman to take in, even though her husband is a self-serving deadbeat. And, for a sweet finish, all I'll say is that Dave doesn't reveal to the nation that he's an impostor, nor does he stay in office - he finds a believable way to make an exit while benefitting the country.

Most importantly, this film works because Kevin Kline is not Robin Williams. Kline plays his role gentle and straight - Dave is a very normal person. You know people like Dave. Kline doesn't jump around the screen like a monkey, begging people to pay attention to him the way Williams does - it's really baffling that he (Kline) didn't become better known. I'm really looking forward to watching him in Much Ado About Nothing, another 90's production.

Bottom line: if you want to enjoy yourself without having your intelligence insulted, Dave is an excellent choice. You won't be sorry.