My Fellow Americans
| My Fellow Americans | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Peter Segal |
| Produced by | Jon Peters |
| Screenplay by | E. Jack Kaplan Richard Chapman Peter Tolan |
| Story by | E. Jack Kaplan Richard Chapman |
| Starring | |
| Music by | William Ross |
| Cinematography | Julio Macat |
| Edited by | William Kerr |
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Production
company |
Peters Entertainment
Storyline Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21.5 million |
| Box office | $22,313,201 |
My Fellow Americans is a 1996 American comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents. Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford and Jeff Yagher are also in the cast. It is named for the traditional opening of Presidential addresses to the American people.
Lemmon's perennial collaborator, Walter Matthau, was slated to costar. Health problems kept him from appearing so Garner was chosen to star opposite Lemmon for their first project together. The film was unofficially called "Grumpy Old Presidents" by those on the set.
Republican Senator Russell Kramer of Ohio (Jack Lemmon) wins the Presidential election, narrowly defeating archrival Democratic Governor Matt Douglas of Indiana (James Garner). Four years later, Douglas wins a landslide victory over the now-incumbent Kramer. Another four years later, Kramer's former Vice President, William Haney (Dan Aykroyd), defeats Douglas. His Vice President, Ted Matthews (John Heard), is widely seen as an idiot, and becomes a continuing embarrassment for the administration. A further three years later, Kramer is spending his time writing books and speaking at various inconsequential functions, while Douglas is finishing his own book and going through a divorce.
Meanwhile, the Democratic party learns about "Olympia", codename for a series of bribes from defense contractor Charlie Reynolds (James Rebhorn) paid to Haney when he was Vice President. The Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Hollis (Wilford Brimley) asks Douglas to investigate. Hollis offers the support of the Democratic Party for a Presidential run in return for his help. Douglas accepts, hoping to beat Haney and get back into the Oval Office. Meanwhile, Haney and his Chief of Staff Carl Witnaur (Bradley Whitford) plot to frame Kramer for the scandal. When rumors begin to suggest that Kramer was involved in Olympia, he begins his own investigation.
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Wikipedia