In the midst of this crazy Primary Season and with the release of “Elvis & Nixon”, starring Michael Shannon (“99 Homes”) as the King of Rock-N-Roll, and Kevin Spacey as our 37th President, here’s a look at some recent cinematic explorations of the position of Commander in Chief.
It’s a toss-up between two for my favorite in this category: “Frost/Nixon”, Ron Howard’s 2008 drama about the 1977 TV interviews between British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen) and Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) was a fascinating nail-biter. Equally invigorating – Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln”. He masterfully directed this emotionally epic look at the last few months in the life of Honest Abe. Daniel Day-Lewis is incredible, supported by stellar work from Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.
“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” features a notable performance from Forest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, who served eight Presidents as a White House butler. John Cusack took-on Nixon, James Marsden was JFK, Liev Schreiber portrayed LBJ, and the late Robin Williams and Alan Rickman played Eisenhower and Reagan, respectively. President Johnson was also seen recently on-screen with Tom Wilkinson’s underrated work in the moving “Selma”, starring David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2013 saw a couple of fictional “President in Danger” action/thrillers open within a few months of each other. “Olympus Has Fallen”, with Aaron Eckhart, Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman, was so successful that the sequel “London Has Fallen” was made and released earlier this year. And “White House Down” was solid, albeit a little corny, with engaging leads in Channing Tatum and, as the Pres., Mr. Jamie Foxx.
The makers of “W.” hoped Josh Brolin would receive some awards buzz for his work as George W. Bush, but the ’08 drama was overshadowed by “Frost/Nixon” and (obviously) the ’08 Presidential Election. Bill Murray did get some Best Actor support for his role as FDR with the 2012 release of “Hyde Park on Hudson”. Murray got enough votes for a Golden Globe nomination, but the film was a disappointment (I’ll never forget the goofy hot dog scenes).
Recent Presidential Election movies have received mixed receptions from the American public: George Clooney’s 2011 thriller “The Ides of March” was a success, but not by a landslide. Satires “Man of the Year” (with a political talk show host – played by Williams – becoming the frontrunner for the Oval Office) and “Swing Vote” (with an election coming down to the single vote of a small-town father played by Kevin Costner) both underwhelmed at the box office.
The one outsider in this group, for obvious reasons, is the guilty pleasure “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”. Yes, it’s completely ridiculous, but the story is presented in such a legitimate way that it actually makes you think this could’ve…well, maybe I’m getting too carried away.
But, hey, no one ever thought the host of “The Celebrity Apprentice” would one day be a finalist for the most important job in the free world – proving once again, that when it comes to politics, anything is possible.