ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 21, 1996 TAG: 9612230123
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: RICK HOLTER KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Ever wonder what a former leader of the free world calls his ahem First Body Part? Ever pine to hear a pair of ex-commanders in chief tossing epithets back and forth like a Hacky-Sack? Ever long to see an ex-president sing the Macarena while otherwise occupied in a bathroom stall?
If so, Hollywood's got just the ticket. (And no, it's not ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America.'') Welcome to the wonderful world of ``My Fellow Americans,'' where old lions Jack Lemmon and James Garner team up to deliver a remarkably profane, yet featherweight political comedy/adventure.
And while the comedy does provoke a surprising number of guilty chuckles, the adventure's just a joke. Seems our heroes play a pair of grumpy old former chief executives who've been at war politically for decades. The dynamic duo is forced to go on the run to save their hides and expose a huge, if completely confusing, kickback scandal that reaches all the way to the White House.
On one side of the aisle, you have the ol' tight-with-a-nickel Republican, Russell Kramer (Lemmon), a down-home sellout who hawks ``Hail to the Chef'' cookbooks and dances with a panda mascot at a corporate schmooze-fest.
On the other, you have the Secret Service-dodging Democrat who ousted Kramer and then got ousted himself, Matt Douglas (Garner), whose only cashing-in since leaving office has been with presidential groupies.
It's actually a premise with some promise, and the gentle friction between the two Hollywood vets is just right. But they're tripped up by a surprisingly high body count, an out-of-the-blue special-effects moment (apparently ``Mars Attacks!'' had a leftover outtake) and a scripted volley of profanity that would make Walter Matthau blush.
So who's the genius behind this high-concept effort to fuse an old-buddy comedy and a political thriller with the sensibilities of, say, ``Tommy Boy''? Why, the genius behind ``Tommy Boy,'' director Peter Segal, who apparently believes sophistication is a four-letter word.
He has collected a talented supporting cast, featuring the regal Lauren Bacall (who creates sparks but seems a bit embarrassed to be involved) as Kramer's wife, Dan Aykroyd as the sleazy politico who replaces Douglas and John Heard (who, in a spate of unfortunate real-life publicity, had his stalking charge against ex-girlfriend Melissa Leo of TV's ``Homicide'' reduced to trespassing and harassment this week) as the Quayle-ian vice president.
But no amount of supporting talent can erase the image of Garner yanking a paramour's bra out of his boxer shorts. We've heard of executive privilege, but this is ridiculous.
My Fellow Americans *1/2
A Warner Bros. film showing at Salem Valley 8 and Valley View Mall 6. Rated PG-13 for lots of foul language, mild violence. 100 mins.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Lauren Bacall tries - in vain - to bring someby CNBdignity to `My Fellow Americans,'' which also stars Jack Lemmon and
James Garner.