Are You With Us?: Dave
By Ryan Mazie
May 7, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
However, the publicity magnet Sacha Baron Cohen is seeking to defy the box office doldrums of the political genre with the laugh-filled satire, The Dictator. And judging by trailer reactions, it looks like he might (after the Megan Fox bit, I was convinced to buy a ticket for its release next Wednesday, May 16th). While Cohen’s star has cooled a bit from his Borat heyday, he still can command an audience and the scripted-route he is taking his time varies his shtick a bit to get audiences interested. But one sure thing he has on his side is history.
On May 7th, 1993, the political comedy Dave hit theaters and became a surprise moneymaker, raking in $63.3 million ($121.2 million adjusted), still among the top grossing political films of all time (I told you the bar is set low).
I did not know what to expect before watching Dave. In fact, I never even heard of it before. With a quick Google search, I saw that it starred a talented cast (Kevin Kline as the titular character, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, and Ben Kingsley) and was up for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Maybe my expectations were set a bit too high, because I thought that Dave was not a landslide victory.
Dave is essentially a riff on the fish-out-of-the-water, body-switching genre under a fresh guise. However, for lowly citizen Dave Kovic and President of the United States Bill Mitchell, they don’t need to swap bodies, because they already share near identical ones (Kline plays both roles). A dead ringer for the President, Dave is enlisted by the Secret Service to impersonate the President one night for a dinner appearance while the POTUS is off to more important matters (hooking up with a secretary).
However, once a debilitating stroke leaves the President in a coma, Dave’s one night of stepping into the President’s shoes becomes an indefinite walk. The conflict is touch-and-go, as the movie is more interested in seeing Dave’s personal development once placed in a role of mighty power. And I don’t blame the filmmakers. Langella plays the explicit villain, White House Chief of Staff Bob Alexander, who uses Dave as a puppet in attempts to make him President of the United States in a preposterous side plot that doesn’t result in much of anything. Weaver is fine as the President’s (unknown to the public) estranged wife, who plays the object of affection for Dave. Equally silly, I had more fun following this part of the story than Langella’s, which seems to belong in a different movie entirely (not a knock against his acting, which is in peak form, but with the writing).
Gary Ross, who directed/scripted The Hunger Games (I am sure his final paycheck for that film will be close to Dave’s final tally), wrote the funny screenplay. Although rated PG-13 (I had to check this in a few places; surprising given how squeaky clean it is), Dave is a family film and the lack of deep political talk shows this to be true. Dave is never identified with a political party, making the film fairly accessible and timeless in a sense, not dealing with any major issues (besides the DREAM act which is unbelievably still being debated today), making Dave with us. The political climate was surely different in 1993 with Clinton at the helm, having the happy-go-nature of the President resonating to the public more than today, I’d imagine.
Kline is excellent as Dave, having chemistry with Weaver and a charisma that makes it understandable why the public and press eat his words up. Langella is menacing, but doesn’t chew the scenery. While all of the characters’ reactions are fairly unrealistic and the arcs are overly accelerated, this is more of a script problem (which let’s face it, isn’t relying too heavily on logic given the plotline to begin with). However, everyone seems to be having fun and Ross’s script is bouncy enough to support the 110-minute running time without flat lining.
Directed by Ivan Reitman after the one-two-three hit of Twins, Ghostbusters II, and Kindergarten Cop, Dave has a great comedic pacing to it. Reitman knows when to end a scene and segue into a new one with ease and finesse. Although it could be a little bit tighter, the fat left hanging isn’t entirely tasteless.
I enjoyed the looseness of the plot; however, too many scenes felt interchangeable. While in comedy it is good to cut the characters some slack to have fun, it is also important to have a stabilizer. The balance is never quite in sync.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film rests at a shockingly high 97% (among 38 reviews) and a perfect 100% among top critics. Critics cheered the film’s feel-good buoyancy and the new take on the old plot. The cast also got nods from the reviewers. Audiences seemed to bite, too.
Opening in second place on the second weekend of May to Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Dave came ahead in week two. By week three, Dave was playing in 1,916 venues, a high number in 1993, especially for a mid-range comedy. Opening with $7.3 million, it was week two that Dave made $8.5 million. While films having very long legs were common back then, having a second week bump during a non-holiday frame was rare.
I loved the cast of Dave, which served as another good mark on their career report cards. It didn’t launch anybody’s career or dismantle it (Reitman’s follow-up films did that). Laura Linney (the woman the President is having an affair with) and Bonnie Hunt (a White House tour guide) are in the cast, but their roles are more of brief cameos, making it unreasonable to claim that this film skyrocketed their careers.
Being in an election year, I am sure Dave will be brought back into the conversation for people eager to get into the political mood with some laughs. Good for the family and a chuckle, Dave beats out a handful of D.C. set flicks, but just isn’t as memorable. While substance is more important than charm, Dave has just enough charisma and laughter to win my vote.
Verdict: With Us
6 out of 10