2008 Woodie Awards
Reel Deal: The Oval Office in front of the lense
Alex Plimack
Arts | 4/17/08
Everything just seems so presidential lately.
First it was the presidential primaries, then the Student Government Association candidates announced their tickets and now my dad wants to repaint the house white (OK, I made that last part up).
And it got me thinking: There have been a lot of presidents in the movies. And while some may have been realistic and probably good for our country (like Michael Douglas in "The American President"), I thought about the ones that actually took their duties to a new level.
So I present the top five movie presidents:
President James Marshall, "Air Force One" (Harrison Ford)
Harrison Ford telling a Russian terrorist (played by Gary Oldman) to "Get off my plane!" before punching him isn't only a feat of good grammar but the ideal trait of any president. It's great that President Marshall declares in the beginning of the movie that terrorists are the ones that should be afraid, but it's another when he himself enacts the new foreign policy. If only the current administration could have done the same.
Thomas J. Whitmore, "Independence Day" (Bill Pullman)
The speech before the aerial attack was cool, but the president himself actually climbing into the cockpit of a fighter jet to take on the aliens? Now that's just badass. Even after having his brain scrambled by one of the visitors, the death of his wife and a complete dick for a national security advisor, President Whitmore was still able to do more over the Fourth of July weekend than some presidents do during their whole time in office.
President Merkin Muffley, "Dr. Strangelove" (Peter Sellers)
Bumbling. Clueless. But completely unaware of it. Sound familiar? President Muffley tries his best to prevent the nuclear annihilation of the Soviet Union with the help of the titular Doctor in the satirical take on the Cold War. But it's the unique logic of Muffley, evident in the classic line "You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" that makes Muffley memorable.
President James Dale, "Mars Attacks" (Jack Nicholson)
In the hands of any other actor, the role of President Dale would have been wasted. But Nicholson, with his perpetually annoyed demeanor, makes the optimistically patriotic nature of Dale even funnier. Dale stands up to the invading Martians, and even though he doesn't go at them with an F-16 and ends up with a Martian flag through his gut, he promised the people "two of three branches of the government." Now that ain't bad.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The Simpsons Movie"
It's impossible for Schwarzenegger to actually hold office, but that doesn't stop the yellow version of him from deciding what to do with Springfield. "I was elected to lead, not to read," he argues during his decision making process. Maybe he's right. Maybe a guy that took on the T-1000, Predator and Sinbad should get a chance to run the country. No reading necessary.
First it was the presidential primaries, then the Student Government Association candidates announced their tickets and now my dad wants to repaint the house white (OK, I made that last part up).
And it got me thinking: There have been a lot of presidents in the movies. And while some may have been realistic and probably good for our country (like Michael Douglas in "The American President"), I thought about the ones that actually took their duties to a new level.
So I present the top five movie presidents:
President James Marshall, "Air Force One" (Harrison Ford)
Harrison Ford telling a Russian terrorist (played by Gary Oldman) to "Get off my plane!" before punching him isn't only a feat of good grammar but the ideal trait of any president. It's great that President Marshall declares in the beginning of the movie that terrorists are the ones that should be afraid, but it's another when he himself enacts the new foreign policy. If only the current administration could have done the same.
Thomas J. Whitmore, "Independence Day" (Bill Pullman)
The speech before the aerial attack was cool, but the president himself actually climbing into the cockpit of a fighter jet to take on the aliens? Now that's just badass. Even after having his brain scrambled by one of the visitors, the death of his wife and a complete dick for a national security advisor, President Whitmore was still able to do more over the Fourth of July weekend than some presidents do during their whole time in office.
President Merkin Muffley, "Dr. Strangelove" (Peter Sellers)
Bumbling. Clueless. But completely unaware of it. Sound familiar? President Muffley tries his best to prevent the nuclear annihilation of the Soviet Union with the help of the titular Doctor in the satirical take on the Cold War. But it's the unique logic of Muffley, evident in the classic line "You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" that makes Muffley memorable.
President James Dale, "Mars Attacks" (Jack Nicholson)
In the hands of any other actor, the role of President Dale would have been wasted. But Nicholson, with his perpetually annoyed demeanor, makes the optimistically patriotic nature of Dale even funnier. Dale stands up to the invading Martians, and even though he doesn't go at them with an F-16 and ends up with a Martian flag through his gut, he promised the people "two of three branches of the government." Now that ain't bad.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, "The Simpsons Movie"
It's impossible for Schwarzenegger to actually hold office, but that doesn't stop the yellow version of him from deciding what to do with Springfield. "I was elected to lead, not to read," he argues during his decision making process. Maybe he's right. Maybe a guy that took on the T-1000, Predator and Sinbad should get a chance to run the country. No reading necessary.
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