68
Metascore
21 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWatching The American President, I felt respect for the craft that went into it: the flawless re-creation of the physical world of the White House, the smart and accurate dialogue, the manipulation of the love story to tug our heartstrings.
- 88San Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserSan Francisco ExaminerBarbara ShulgasserAn old-fashioned movie. It is simplistic, full of stock characters and easy solutions to difficult problems, and I absolutely loved it.
- 80The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinWith great looks, a dandy supporting cast, a zinger-filled screenplay by Aaron Sorkin ("A Few Good Men") and Mr. Douglas twinkling merrily in the Oval Office, The American President is sunny enough to make the real Presidency pale by comparison.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversIt's a revamped Cinderella story with power as the aphrodisiac, and Douglas and Bening play it to the classy hilt. The courtship scenes in the film's lighter, more deft first half have the bounce of a moonstruck fable.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannIn Sorkin's vision, this is what ought to happen when a political progressive occupies the White House -- provided he has principles, guts and more on his mind than voter-approval polls and re- election prospects.
- 70Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonWittily scripted, engagingly sappy, completely implausible and unabashedly Capraesque, it's a rather wonderful crock.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanIn the end, the movie says that the President's private life matters, all right -- that Shepherd should get the girl and reestablish his leadership by giving in to the noble liberal he always was inside. Even for a modern Capra fable, that's a bit much to swallow.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt comes across as painfully politically correct, offering trite sermons on various "hot-button" issues (gun control and the greenhouse effect). The narrative follows an unwavering by-the-numbers strategy with an ending that echoes the "cornball" of Al Pacino's climactic Scent of a Woman speech.
- 60Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumA pleasant, inoffensive, and (quite properly) mindless diversion.
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThese days, when presidential bouquets are named Gennifer Flowers, and when we all know what Jack Kennedy did beneath the White House covers, this sort of Capra-corn, even in the guise of light comedy, just doesn't have the same taste. More salt, please, and hold the butter.