DAVE (1993) **1/2 You know, it shouldn't be all that difficult to write a semi-surrealist piece on the American presidency, and that's demonstrated here. The only problem being that they either aren't quite sure what's so surreal bout it, don't quite know how to illuminate anything but the tip of the iceberg, aren't allowed to, or are afraid to try. The result being that they build up a credible head of intellectual steam, on several occasions, only to see it subside through a design error release valve. Glorious time-capsule political cameos as themselves abound (Tip O'Neill, John McLaughlin, Oliver Stone, Larry King, Jay Leno, my favorite is Sen. Paul Simon), and don't distract from good work by the stars. It's just amazing looking at a frame of Kevin Kline and Charles Grodin, and actually liking them, thinking that they're the good guys. I frequently find their work abhorrent, so they had unique obstacles to overcome for me to praise their performances. I do, particularly, I'm even more surprised to say, Grodin. Bonnie Hunt gets a single scene that couldn't have even looked like much on paper, and steals the show. Frank Langella is credible and appropriately disturbing as the zeitgeist of the realm. It would be wrong to say that it takes no chances, it at least comes out as Democratically partisan for whatever that's worth, but the overall sense is that it really knew that there was something to say, it just couldn't quite figure out what it was/is.
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