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Just Then It Felt As If I Wasn’t Pretending Anymore

Posted in General Comments, Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, tagged 25th Amendment, Alan Reed, Ben Kingsley, Bill Mitchell, Bob Alexander, Charles Grodin, Chief of Staff, Dave (1993) — movie review, Dave Kovic, Ellen Mitchell, First Lady, Frank Langella, General Comments, Hollywood, Ivan Reitman, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Kline, Movie Reviews, Murray Blum, Oval Office, Reviews, Sigourney Weaver, Strong Movie Recommendation, The White House, Vice‑President Nance, Ving Rhames on June 9, 2026| 3 Comments »

“Dave” (1993) — movie review
Today’s second film review is for the political comedy “Dave”, directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Kevin Kline as Dave Kovic / Bill Mitchell, the decent temp‑agency owner who ends up impersonating the President; Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Mitchell, the sharp and quietly frustrated First Lady; Frank Langella as Bob Alexander, the power‑hungry Chief of Staff; Kevin Dunn as Alan Reed, the nervous Communications Director trying to keep the whole mess together; Ving Rhames as Duane Stevenson, the stone‑faced Secret Service agent who slowly warms to Dave; Ben Kingsley as Vice‑President Nance, honest and steady; and Charles Grodin as Murray Blum, Dave’s accountant friend who somehow ends up fixing the federal budget with a pencil. Light political comedy with a good heart.

Background: This is a re‑watch for me. I saw “Dave” back when it first came out and mostly remembered it as “the nice political comedy where Kevin Kline plays two parts and somehow makes both work.” The movie did reasonably well and picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It sits in that early‑90s window when Hollywood could still make a White House comedy that was hopeful instead of bitter. No dark conspiracy thriller, no “everything is broken” sermon — just the idea that maybe a decent person could land in the Oval Office and try to help. Looking at it now, that alone makes it feel more than a little historic.

Plot: Dave Kovic runs a small temp agency in “small town, America”, and does a side gig impersonating the President because he happens to look exactly like him. One night, the Secret Service hires him to be a stand‑in for a quick public appearance. While Dave is “being” the President, the real Bill Mitchell has a stroke during an affair. Bob Alexander and Alan Reed decide to keep the medical crisis secret and use Dave as a full‑time double so they can keep the government (and their own power) under control. At first, Dave just reads what they put in front of him. Then he starts paying attention. He visits a shelter, listens to people, and decides he actually wants to do some good. He brings in his friend Murray to help fix the budget, starts pushing for jobs, and treats staff like human beings. Ellen slowly figures out that this “new” husband is not the man she married, and that’s a good thing. Bob, meanwhile, tries to frame Dave in a fake scandal and set himself up as the next President. It all builds to a joint session of Congress, a staged collapse, and a quiet little ending that lets Dave walk away with his conscience intact.

So, is this movie any good? How’s the acting? The filming / FX? Any problems? And, did I enjoy the film? Short answers: Yes; very good; clean and straightforward; a few; yes.

Any good? Yes. “Dave” is simple, but it works. The story is easy to follow, the tone stays light without turning into pure fluff, and the movie never laughs at Dave for being decent. That’s important. A lot of later political stuff treats kindness as a joke or a weakness. Here, the whole point is that basic decency is exactly what’s missing. The script keeps things moving, gives everyone at least a moment or two, and lands the ending without a big speech about “saving democracy.” It’s not deep, but it’s solid.

Acting: Kevin Kline is the anchor for the whole film. As Dave, he’s awkward, funny, and genuinely kind; as Bill Mitchell, he’s cold and selfish. You never confuse the two, even though it’s the same face. Sigourney Weaver gives Ellen some real weight. She starts off distant and angry, then slowly lets herself trust this “new” version of her husband. Frank Langella leans into Bob Alexander as a classic Washington shark, and it fits the movie’s slightly heightened tone. Kevin Dunn’s Alan Reed is nervous, guilty, and more human than he first appears. Ving Rhames gets some of the best small moments as Duane, especially when he finally admits he’d take a bullet for Dave. Ben Kingsley plays Vice‑President Nance as quiet and honest, which pays off later. And Charles Grodin, as Murray, walks in, talks about cutting the federal budget like it’s a household ledger, and just about steals the movie. I can’t remember liking Grodin in anything I’ve ever seen him in, but in this film he really is excellent! Go figure…

Filming / FX: This is early‑90s studio work, and it looks like it. Clean interiors, bright lighting, and a White House that feels like a movie set but not a cartoon. No flashy camera tricks, no big effects shots — just straightforward coverage that lets the actors and the script do the work. The music leans a little “uplifting,” but it matches the tone. Nothing here is going to wow you visually, but nothing gets in the way either. It feels like exactly what it is: a mid‑budget studio comedy that knows its job.

Problems: The big one is realism. The idea that you could hide a presidential stroke, swap in a double, and keep it going for weeks is pure fantasy. The movie doesn’t really care about the 25th Amendment or how any of this would actually work. Bob Alexander is also pretty broad — fun to watch, but not subtle. The romance between Dave and Ellen is sweet, but it moves fast and mostly lives in looks and small gestures. If you want a hard‑edged political story, this isn’t it. You have to accept that this is a fable about a good person dropped into a bad system, not a “how Washington really works” movie.

Did I enjoy the film? Yes. I smiled through most of it. Some of that is nostalgia, but a lot of it is just the cast doing their jobs well. The jokes still land, the emotional beats still work, and the movie’s basic belief — that it would be nice if someone in power actually cared — hasn’t aged out. I rolled my eyes at a few of the plot shortcuts, but I never felt talked down to. For a light political comedy from thirty years ago, that’s not bad.

Final Recommendation: Strong recommendation. “Dave” is a well‑acted, good‑natured political comedy with a memorable dual performance from Kevin Kline and a script that earned its Oscar nomination. It’s also a small time capsule from when Hollywood could still imagine a basically decent person in the Oval Office without irony. Not a MUST see, but if you like character‑driven comedies, political stories with a soft touch, or just want to watch decent people try to do the right thing, “Dave” is very much worth your time.

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Click here (9 June) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Size Does Matter

Posted in Movie Review, Movies, Reviews, tagged Aliens, Audrey Timmonds, Colonel Hicks, Doug Savant, Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos, General Comments, Godzilla (1998) – movie review, Hank Azaria, Jean Reno, Jurassic Park, Kaiju, Kevin Dunn, Legendary, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, Maria Pitillo, Matthew Broderick, Movie Reviews, MTV, New York City, Philippe Roaché, Reviews, Sergeant O’Neal, Toho Films, Victor “Animal” Palotti on October 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Godzilla” (1998) – movie review
Today’s review is for the big-budget creature feature: “Godzilla” (1998), starring Matthew Broderick as Dr. Niko “Nick” Tatopoulos (a worm specialist / biologist turned monster tracker), Jean Reno as Philippe Roaché (a French intelligence agent with a taste for espresso and espionage), Maria Pitillo as Audrey Timmonds (an aspiring reporter and Niko’s ex-girlfriend), Hank Azaria as Victor “Animal” Palotti (a cameraman with guts and a Brooklyn accent), Kevin Dunn as Colonel Hicks (military brass with a skeptical eye), and Doug Savant as Sergeant O’Neal (a level-headed soldier who actually listens).

Background: I saw this film in theaters during its original release, drawn in by the marketing blitz — trailers teasing a monster that crushes a T-Rex skeleton. I hadn’t revisited it in over ten years, but curiosity (and a discount Blu-ray bin) brought it back into my queue. I’m using this as the jump off point to watching / reviewing the King Kong and Godzilla films from this millennia.

Plot: A mysterious creature attacks a Japanese fishing vessel and soon makes landfall in New York City, leaving a trail of destruction and confusion. Dr. Tatopoulos is brought in to study the beast, which turns out to be a mutated iguana born of nuclear testing. As the military scrambles to contain the threat, Niko discovers that Godzilla is nesting — laying eggs that could unleash a new generation of monsters. The film becomes a race against time to stop the creature and its offspring before Manhattan becomes a permanent reptilian habitat.

So, how’s the movie? The acting? The filming / FX? Any problems? And, did I enjoy the film? Short answers: okay to good; serviceable; flashy but dated; many; sort of.

Any good? Better than expected (or remembered), but not really the Godzilla I grew up with. “Godzilla” (1998) is a film that wants to be a “tent-pole” for a series, but ends up as more of a bigger T-Rex Jurassic Park. It borrows heavily from “Jurassic Park” and “Aliens” but lacks the insight or depth of either. The creature design is more T-Rex sized velociraptor than kaiju, and the tone veers between disaster flick and slapstick farce – mostly at the expense of the military. It’ll be a disappointing film if you’re a fan of the original Japanese franchise.

Acting: Broderick plays Niko with his usual affable awkwardness, but he’s miscast as a leading man in a monster movie. Reno adds some dry humor and gravitas, though his character feels parachuted in from a different film. Pitillo’s Audrey is underwritten and often reduced to a plot device. Azaria brings energy, but his comic relief sometimes undercuts the tension. Kevin Dunn’s Colonel Hicks is the standard military skeptic, while Doug Savant’s Sergeant O’Neal is one of the few characters who feels grounded — he’s competent, calm, and actually pays attention. The ensemble is fine, but no one really stands out. You’re here for the monster, not the humans — and unfortunately, even the monster feels underdeveloped.

Filming / FX: The visual effects were cutting-edge in 1998 and they’re still pretty serviceable. Godzilla’s design is sleek but generic, lacking the mythic presence of its Japanese counterpart. The destruction scenes are loud and chaotic, but rarely suspenseful. The nighttime rain-soaked aesthetic tries to mask the CGI seams, but the creature’s movements often feel weightless. The baby Godzillas in Madison Square Garden seem clearly inspired by raptors from “Jurassic Park“, but the sequence plays more like a campy take-off than a serious monster film.

Problems: Plenty. This version of Godzilla simply isn’t the correct size of the old days. The plot tries to make the film about people and forgets to keep the camera on the money. The film sidelines its own mythology, turning Godzilla into a misunderstood animal rather than a symbol of nuclear reckoning. The military is portrayed as both incompetent and trigger-happy, and the romantic subplot feels forced. Traditionally, Godzilla was never really interested in people – eating or chasing. He (it) was only a problem because it was so big and lumbering, it just laid waste to any city it entered. Worst of all, the film lacks tension when Godzilla is not on screen and those are big chunks of the film.

Did I enjoy the film? Yes! There’s a certain 90s charm to the excess — explosions, one-liners, and a soundtrack that screams “MTV era.” But as a “Godzilla” film, it misses the mark. It’s more disaster porn than monster movie, and it trades / loses “something” (depth?) by going for spectacle and people (relationships). Still, if you’re in the mood for something loud, silly, and vaguely nostalgic, it might scratch the itch. It scratched mine…

Final Recommendation: High moderate to low strong recommendation. “Godzilla” (1998) is a cautionary tale in franchise adaptation — how not to reimagine a cultural icon. If you’re a kaiju fan, stick with the original Toho films or the more recent Legendary reboot. If you’re just looking for a creature feature with explosions and quips, this might do the trick. It worked for me…

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Click here (10 October) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.