Fictional chiefs of sates we wish could lead us through the real world.
With the end of the two major parties’ conventions last week, we got to thinking about fictitious presidents who, unfortunately for America, only exist in the movies in which they appear. By that we mean not actual presidents of the past played by actors but rather characters in movies that we’d “make real” if we could. We are cursed to live in interesting times, to quote the old Chinese expression, and we could use leaders with their kind of conviction and vision.
The usual caveats apply below, the same ones that are starting to sound like a stump speech: no particular order, purely subjective, blah blah blah… And to quote Richard Nixon, let me make one thing perfectly clear: this list is bipartisan, and intended as totally objective regarding its’ members’ political affiliation.
1. The President, Fail-Safe (1964) Played by: Henry Fonda. A great leader because: He makes the hardest decision of all time. When a computer error irretrievably sends a U.S. bomber squadron to drop atomic warheads on Moscow, Fonda’s nameless president sweats out the bombers’ approach in a bunker far underground, connected to the Kremlin via telephone and translator (Larry Hagman). Faced with all-out Soviet retaliation, he makes an unthinkable choice, one with a terrible logic that nonetheless carries a staggering cost. 20/20 Hindsight: The prospect of accidental nuclear war was absurdly plausible throughout the 1960s, and a favorite subject of books and cinema including Stanley’s Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. But here director Sidney Lumet loads on the realistic details and gradually building pace until the reality of such a mistake takes a palpable toll on the audience (spoiler warning):
2. James Marshall, Air Force One (1997) Played by: Harrison Ford. A great leader because: He’s a badass. From his opening speech declaring the U.S. will hunt down terrorists with impunity to his bravado defending the titular jet from hijackers, Ford’s Marhsall is basically President Han Solo. 20/20 Hindsight: Gritty and self-determined, this kind of presidential chest-thumping was likely more appealing eleven years ago, before the current president’s “Mission Accomplished” fiasco or the long years of Monica Lewinski and still before 9/11. Whatever, Ford as president was an idea for its time: posters read simply, “Harrison Ford is the president of the United States;” the film grossed $172 million.
3. Dave Kovic, Dave (1993) Played by: Kevin Kline A great leader because: He’s a president of the people, for the people. Temp agency staffer Kovic gets installed into the Oval Office after the real president, whom he looks just like, is incapacitated during an indiscreet moment. But in sweetest film-fable form, Kovic starts running the country his own way, a way largely based on simple wisdom and populist optimism. Of course he has to stand up to a bevy of challenges, including a Karl Rove-like chief of staff (Frank Langella) as well as constant scrutiny from the media and suspicion from the real president’s wife (Sigourney Weaver) and a dour Secret Service agent (Ving Rhames). 20/20 Hindsight: Possibly superfluous among the “new day dawning” atmosphere of Clinton’s first year in office, this very Kapra-esque dramedy views today like a pretty bauble from another era, which is probably what director Ivan Reitman intended all along.
4. Jackson Evans, The Contender (2000) Played by: Jeff Bridges A great leader because: Like Teddy Roosevelt and Jack Kennedy before him, Evans is a man of principle unafraid to play hardball to push real change through myopic government. His championing of atheist, pro-choice Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) as a replacement Vice President ignites a firestorm of controversy, until he steps in and shames Congress with an oratory pimp slap upside the head. 20/20 Hindsight: Bridges, who incredibly has never won an Oscar, was thought a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actor (Benicio Del Toro won for Traffic.) The film is sometimes criticized as dogmatic and partisan. Just the same, it was an overdue breakthrough for Allen and provoked plenty of debate upon its release, just three weeks before the 2000 presidential election.
5. Tom Beck, Deep Impact (1998) Played by: Morgan Freeman A great leader because: Serene and intelligent, Beck’s leadership helps America prepare for literally the end of the goddamned world. Even admitting the military had been preparing a nuclear counterstrike against the looming meteor for years doesn’t seem disingenuous once Beck reveals its purpose. 20/20 Hindsight: Pre-millennium tension was expressed via disaster movies throughout 90s cinema, and Deep Impact was an atypically intelligent approach to the Doomsday scenario. It also features a black president, while The Contender promises a female Vice President. Less than a decade later, one of these will be a reality this November.
6. Jordan Lyman, Seven Days In May (1964) Played by: Fredric March A great leader because: He does what’s right, not what’s popular or even safe for his own well-being. As President Lyman prepares to sign a bitterly controversial disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union, his administration finds itself the target of a military coup d’etat led by Air Force Joint Chief of Staff General Mattoon Scott (Burt Lancaster). Lyman resists Scott’s aggression the same way he refuses to buckle to partisan criticism – by staying true to what’s best for the Republic. More than a “let history judge me” autocrat, Lyman acts according to his own conscience, despite all consequences. 20/20 Hindsight: A military takeover of the government seems unlikely today, but consider how unpopular international diplomacy has become in favor of saber rattling and the film remains ahead of its time.
7. Bill McKay, The Candidate (1972) Played by: Robert Redford A great leader because: There’s got to be a better way! McKay tells it like it is with the simmering sarcasm Redford played so well throughout the 70s and early 80s. Every so often Mr. Sundance mentions doing a sequel depicting the last days of the McKay presidency. Bring it on, already! 20/20 Hindsight: Though technically detailing JFK-esque reform lawyer McKay’s run for the California Senate seat, this so-70s-it-hurts satire by director Michael Ritchie (Fletch, The Bad News Bears) has remained hilariously prescient thanks to the existence of would-be candidates like Gary Hart, Dan Quayle, John Edwards, et al - any young up and comer who assumes the mantle of Kennedy youth and glamour. McKay’s meltdown into senseless, jingo-heavy slogans – briefly shown in the clip below – is a classic moment of political skewery.
Full disclosure: We’re aware this topic has been covered before – several times – by other sites. We saltue them for their inspiration, and for charting a course into this fascinating cinematic niche. Thank you, and may God bless America.
- Michael Kabel
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