This movie is the type that makes you stop and think for a minute. The kind that makes you wonder if it could have been true. You can not help but think to yourself that there could be a lot of truth in the fictional movie that has been placed in front of you. "Dave" is exactly that movie, and I will explain why. "Dave" stars Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver in two very well cast roles. Kline plays the President, and Weaver plays his wife in what turned out to be a great acting opportunity for the both of them.

The movie has a very original premise behind it in the way that it unfolds. The President of the United States is having trouble being in two places at the same time, and decides to enlist a body double to take over some of his not-so-important duties. These include sitting in at a dinner, and also making a walk through a lobby after a social-dinner. Not too hard for the double to do in his place, but soon it becomes much more than that.

Kline actually plays two different parts in this movie. He first plays the President of the United States, and also a man that works at a job-placement company. This company is the type that puts people to work whereever they can find a place to put them. Kline's character is in this process one day, when Secret Service agents see him, and believe that he will be the perfect double. From there he gets his chance to live in the life of luxury, if only for just a little while. But, the movie takes a sharp turn when Kline's other character, the President, has a stroke while conducting relations with his Secretary. This puts the people surrounding the President in a bind, and instead of telling anyone that this has happened, they put Kline's second character (the double) into the office.

The Chief of Staff of the President, has it in for anyone who wants to take the office away, and he sees Kline as a puppet that he can manipulate if they keep up the charade with the fake President for as long as humanly possible. His ultimate goal is to take over the Presidency himself, and this can be seen in all of the actions that the people involved end up doing for him. He is one of those types of people that like to control everything around him. He would even control the weather if he had the capacity. So, Kline is trying to do the best job that he can as the new President, while all the time having to put up with an arrogant Chief of Staff.

Sigourney Weaver, comes into play as a wife who has lost the love in the relationship with the first Kline President. So, when the double moves into the white house, she starts to know that something is up when Kline starts paying attention to her. The President had been fooling around with a lot of people while in the office, and she had just about had enough of it. She had convinced herself that she could do more good by staying with him, and helping out the country, than she could by leaving him.

What evolves after this is a very nice love story between Kline and Weaver. They seem very believable and genuine in the way that their characters start to fall in love. Of course, nothing good can last forever, and there are many troubles that they will have to face throughout the movie. My favorite part was actually one of these situations, when Kline decides that he is going to take a shot at cutting the federal budget to save a shelter program. It is fun to watch as he tries to play the role of the President, and not make a mistake that would blow his cover to the whole public. I will not give away how it ends, but I will say that you will enjoy the ending :)

This is one of those movies that can scare you if you think too much about it. If something like this actually took place in real life, it would cause a lot of problems. Looking at this from a citizens point-of-view, I wonder if there have been any body-doubles for President's that have already served in office. I wonder if the people that we see giving the speeches on television are even the real people. The thought of the whole thing can lead to a little bit of worrying if you put too much stock into it, so I think that I will just move on with the hope that it is purely a movie.

I highly recommend this movie mostly because of its originality. Now we have all seen movies where two people switch places, but this one has quite a twist with one person completely taking over the life of a President. I encourage everyone to give this movie a chance. There are parts with Ving Rhames, Ben Stein, and many others who you will recognize. This is also a film that is appropriate for people of all ages, because there is no violence, and the language throughout the film is very tame. I give this movie 5 out of a possible 5 stars.














Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good Date Movie
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8