The American President
Columbia Pictures | Release Date: November 17, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Watching 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. Read full review
90
NewsweekJack Kroll
All this is good fun -- some of which is anticipating the pained reaction from conservative Hollywood-hasslers. Director Rob Reiner has a fine smooth touch, Douglas is charismatic, Bening is scrumptious -- you want to put all these dream politicos in a doggy bag and take them home. [20 Nov 1995, p.28] Read full review
90
TimeRichard Corliss
As bustling and impassioned as the best Sturges and Capra movies, this one captures both the purposeful edginess of Administration Pooh-Bahs (Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, David Paymer and Samantha Mathis--nice jobs, all) and the isolation of the President. [20 Nov 1995, p.117]
88
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
An old-fashioned movie. It is simplistic, full of stock characters and easy solutions to difficult problems, and I absolutely loved it. Read full review
88
USA TodayMike Clark
A super cast injects it with Teddy Roosevelt vitality. [17 Nov 1995, p.D1]
80
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
With 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. Read full review
80
EmpireIan Nathan
Of course it's hokey and silly, but Reiner really knows how to skirt potential schmaltz and there is a political backbone to the piece which gives it reassuring depth. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
It'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. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
In 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. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Michael Douglas and Annette Bening head the well-chosen cast, but what gives the movie substance is its willingness to take real stands on real political issues. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Wittily scripted, engagingly sappy, completely implausible and unabashedly Capraesque, it's a rather wonderful crock. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Genial middle-brow fare that coasts a long way on the charm of its two stars Read full review
70
The New RepublicStanley Kauffmann
But for those who can summon up the talismanic "what if," The American President provides chuckles and tingles, even a few sobs. [18 Dec 1995, p.28]
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
In 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. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It 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. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
A pleasant, inoffensive, and (quite properly) mindless diversion. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Genial and entertaining if not notably inspired. But its most interesting aspect turns out to be fantasies of another kind, pipe dreams about the American political system and where it could theoretically be headed. Read full review
60
Washington PostRita Kempley
Like Shepherd's speech, The American President touches on all manner of issues but illumines none of them. And while there are some engaging glimpses of the president's staff in action...the film's principal pleasures lie in the president's pursuit of a first lady. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
These 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. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Douglas's Chief Executive is no vote-getter; he's a charmless, irritating boob who can't even order flowers for a woman. With friends like Douglas and Reiner, Clinton doesn't need Rush Limbaugh. Read full review
40
The New YorkerTerrence Rafferty
It's a shame that the movie whose coattails these wonderful actors are attached to is such an empty suit. Read full review
More From This Movie

68 Critic Reviews

6.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL