Dave (1993)
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A presidential lookalike is forced to step into the role of the President of the United States after the real leader suffers a stroke.
The story
Dave Kovic, who runs a temporary employment agency in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., capitalizes on his remarkable resemblance to President Bill Mitchell by comically impersonating him at events. When the Secret Service recruits him to act as a security precaution for the President, the situation takes a turn when Mitchell suffers a major stroke. To keep the truth from the public and the First Lady, the corrupt White House Chief of Staff convinces Dave to continue impersonating the President indefinitely. Dave must navigate the complexities of the White House while being manipulated into a scheme to install the Chief of Staff as Vice President.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dave Kovic, a man who impersonates President Bill Mitchell for fun, is hired by the Secret Service to stand in for the President. However, Mitchell suffers a stroke during an affair, and the corrupt Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander, convinces Dave to stay in the role indefinitely to facilitate a political coup. Bob plans to frame Vice President Gary Nance and install himself as Vice President. While Dave tries to do good, including helping a homeless shelter, he eventually discovers the truth about Bob's schemes. After a series of events involving the First Lady, Ellen Mitchell, who falls in love with Dave, Dave eventually exposes Bob's crimes in a joint session of Congress. He then fakes a second stroke to switch places with the real Mitchell, who remains in a coma. Dave returns to his normal life, while Nance becomes president and implements a jobs plan. Dave eventually runs for the D.C. city council.
- First release year
- 1993
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ivan Reitman
- Writers
- Gary Ross · writer
- Cast and characters
- Kevin Kline · Dave Kovic / presidential lookalike; Sigourney Weaver · Ellen Mitchell; Frank Langella · Bob Alexander; Kevin Dunn · Duane Stevenson; Ving Rhames · Alan Reed; Ben Kingsley · Gary Nance; Laura Linney · Randi; Charles Grodin · Murray Blum
- Genres
- political comedy; satire
- Themes
- political corruption; identity; power
- Tone and mood
- refreshingly earnest; lighthearted; charming
- Premise and plot tags
- political comedy; lookalike; satire
- Reception
- The film was a box office success and was met with critical acclaim, described as a refreshingly earnest political comedy with an understated, charming script.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 95% · scale: approval rating · review count: 62; Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7.60 · scale: 10 · review count: 62; Metacritic · score: 76 · scale: 100 · review count: 30
- Production trivia
- The Oval Office set was reused in several other films.; Michael Keaton was briefly cast in the lead role.; The Secret Service did not cooperate with the production.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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