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If people hate politics, the one thing that they dislike even more is seeing politics on film. Everyone, no matter their political alliance, seems to shun political dramas (even thrillers) for the most part. Heck, your film doesn’t even need to gross more than $40 million to be among the top-ten grosser of presidential/campaign movies. I also am not a fan of political intrigue on the big screen, less so due to party alliances, but more so because of how b-o-r-i-n-g they are (although HBO adds some vigor to the genre with their TV flicks Game Change, Recount and their new comedy series Veep, which I recommend).

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).

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