My Fellow Americans (1996)

Hollywood legends Jack Lemmon and James Garner star as former U.S. presidents (Lemmon Republican and Garner Democratic) who unwittingly become involved with political espionage as they become targets of someone within the new administration (Dan Aykroyd, Lemmon's former vice president, is now the commander-in-chief). Soon they are chased by bad secret service agents and constant assassination attempts also follow with would-be hilarious results. They also see America as they have never seen it before and learn that many of their decisions were not the best for those in the national public. "My Fellow Americans" is a watchable little film, but ultimately it does not completely succeed. The tone of the picture goes for laughs and then tries to educate those watching by showing how people in the highest of places can affect ordinary folks. This double standard just does not play as well as I would have liked. John Heard's character (as Aykroyd's vice president) steals every scene with his naive and silly antics. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Fmovies: Peter Segal's My Fellow Americans, a kind and genial little film, has coined the term "Grumpy Old Presidents' over time with good reason. Had Walter Mathau been cast in the role of Democratic Governor Matt Douglas and not James Garner, we would've been calling this "Grumpiest Old Men," as if it were a sequel to the inspired comedies Jack Lemmon and Walter Mathau made in the mid-nineties.

But I digress. This is an equally inspired comedy, that knows its tone, knows its audience, and makes good use of its entire cast, especially its lead, Lemmon and Garner, who are unbelievably charismatic together as two bitter political rivals that have proudly clung to this white collar, boyhood way of fighting for decades now. Lemmon plays Republican Senator Russell Kramer and Garner is Democratic Governor Matt Douglas, who have both endured four years in office, first being Kramer defeating Douglas, and then four years later, vice-versa. Now incumbent Douglas has been defeated by former vice president William Haney (Dan Aykroyd) and his vice president Ted Matthews (John Heard). Up to speed? The last few years have been quite quiet for Kramer, who has been publishing books left and right and speaking at various schools and even for insurance companies. Douglas has endured a rougher road, working on publishing a book that is a sub-par effort according to his editor and is in the mix of a long divorce battle. On a plane to a funeral at Air Force One for a fallen Republican, the two men quibble all throughout the plane-ride and cement the fact to us why they have been bitter rivals for so many long years.

When a serious scandal goes on that a man by the name of Charlie Reynolds (James Rebhorn) offered current president Haney kickbacks when he was a vice president, the Democratic Party plots to frame Kramer. But when Charlies is assassinated and Kramer and Douglas are put on a helicopter allegedly headed for Camp David under the order of Haney, but shipped into the middle of nowhere, the two cantankerous old presidents must learn to get along and attempt to stop the kickback scandal currently at hand in the White House.

It's easy to say this film is never boring. What impressed me immediately was how dialog-driven and event-assisted this film became during the middle of its first act and how it never ceased to become lengthy and ponderous. The film uses its two men not as fiery weapons, but as human characters as they try in work through an incomprehensible situation paired with someone they are not fond of. The film continues to throw in different little twists, to keep its slender plot interesting, and never do they seem obligatory and forced. They are all little pieces attributing to the larger conflict at hand and all come to a close nicely.

Writers E. Jack Kaplan, Richard Chapman, and Peter Tolan are too concerned with infusing satire into this material rather than have the characters remain presidential archetypes. Had they not gone for a more satirical effort, depicting corruption in the White House, brutal honest among elected officials, and widely different outlooks on both characters all attempting to cater to the same goal, this could've been a relatively strained, dull, unimportant effort. Yet largely because of the way the film injects little humorous quirks that make both Republicans and Democrats tick is the reason for My Fellow Americans' success as a film and as a whole.

One could argue the film plays it too safe for a comedy directed at satirizing and l

We just happened upon this movie a couple of years ago when looking for some movies to rent. Somehow we had missed it when the movie had been released and it was new to us. We figured with Jack Lemmon and James Garner it couldn't be too bad.

We thoroughtly enjoyed the movie and think it is one of the funniest movies around. Lemmon and Garner play against one another perfectly. After seeing it the first time, we went ahead and purchased the movie. We have watched it more than a few times and have never grown tired of it. There are some favorite scenes that we still laugh about even thought we know what is coming.

We highly recommend this movie to anyone who is the mood for some good laughs and even some thoughtful moments. You might not want children to see this because of language and a couple of scenes in bedrooms.

My Fellow Americans fmovies. I was very impressed with MY FELLOW AMERICANS the first time I watched it. I was expecting the film to be horrid as it starred Jack Lemmon (which is great) but had James Garner in place of Walter Matthau. I thought this might create a problem, but no.

The story is very fresh and original and the dialogue is witty and the film is filled with a biting sense of sarcasm. It is a touching film at that as well, because it teaches good life lessons about how you should not waste your time and just get right to living. The film has violence and action sequences (explosions, gun shots) that almost make it seem like an action comedy. But, no this is no action comedy. Just a good clean, fun comedy.

The role played by James Garner is very well written and it seems that his role was written with Matthau in mind. But, Garner takes his place well and the film would not have been the same without him. Truly hilarious. MY FELLOW AMERICANS: 4/5.

When this film first came out, the trailers did not interest me in the least. I actually avoided seeing it so as to avoid seeing two cool actors make asses out of themselves (in a bad way). The film was rather poorly marketed, in other words. It looked like Beavis and Butthead with two old guys (in a bad way).

In other words, I'm glad this was the film shown on an Amtrak train a few years back. I think I was laughing harder than anyone else in my car. Frankly, I think a few jokes sailed over people's heads. I remember in particular that the hilarious mispronunciation of "facade" by Dan Ackroyd's clueless VP didn't merit a titter. A few people looked at me oddly when I laughed at it.

This isn't brilliant film-making, mind you. It's simply a vehicle for a lot of very talented comic actors to have fun with some ripe material. It may dip into preachiness now and again, but that is always redeemed ASAP by an entertaining round of rapid-fire bickering.

On an aside, I have to say that I've been in love with Lauren Bacall since I saw The Big Sleep for the first time. It was great to see her in this and even greater to see that she still has a knack for the sharply delivered one-liner. Also, for someone born in the 20s she looks amazing. You heard me right. At 82 years, Lauren Bacall is still hot. Bogie was a very lucky man.

Those two old pros, Jack Lemmon and James Garner, in their only film together provide quite a few laughs in what would normally be a very serious subject, a constitutional crisis.

Two former presidents, Lemmon a Republican and Garner a Democrat, have a real nasty rivalry going. But when current president Dan Ackroyd tries to pin a kickback in a defense contract scandal on his fellow Republican Lemmon things get good and nasty. Garner gets into it when he starts checking on which Republican really is the crooked one and stumbles on the murdered defense contractor.

After that when the two presidents are nearly killed when a government helicopter blows up, they are on the run. They are forced into an alliance of convenience.

Despite this description, it is in fact a comedy with these two men who even as ex-Presidents are used to having everything done for them. Quite amusing indeed when they're forced out on their own.

It's funny, but there are some trenchant comments about the state of politics and life in general in America at the turn of the new millennium. Lauren Bacall is in this oh too briefly as Lemmon's wife and Dan Ackroyd is the current president with John Heard as his Dan Quayle like Vice President.

Republican or Democrat most viewers will vote thumbs up for My Fellow Americans.