With political division seeming to be at a record high in the United States, there’s little that people can agree on these days, that is, beyond the importance of seeing Avengers: Endgame opening weekend. However, we’re all united in our love for a good comedy – and we all probably need a laugh with all the real-world strife. With Long Shot arriving in theaters this weekend, here are movies that don’t take politics too seriously, whether they’re cynical in their satirization of government or they’re hopeful about the inner workings of Washington.
Caveat: The politicians in the films on this list skew almost exclusively white and male, but for decades, so did politics. Long Shot features Charlize Theron’s Secretary of State character running for this country’s highest office, so films are evolving to better represent the population, just as the candidates and elected officials are off-screen as well.
1. The American President (1995)
While most of these comedies take a satirical look at Washington, The American President is as sincere as you’d expect from writer Aaron Sorkin, a.k.a. the man who went on to make the idealistic West Wing. Widowed world leader Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) is in the midst of a reelection campaign, but a romance with lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening) threatens to derail the possibility of a second term. All the normal romcom misunderstandings make an appearance, but there’s a particular delight in watching the most powerful man in the world struggle to handle the basics of (then) modern dating. Not everything has aged well with this Rob Reiner-directed film, but President Shepherd’s final speech to win back the girl – and ultimately the country – is as effectively rousing as ever. You won’t know whether to text the person you love or go to the polls (you can do both).
2. In The Loop (2009)
Before HBO’s Veep, Armando Iannucci made this cheerfully vulgar film that features far more – and far better – insults than any primary debate to date. Shot documentary style as a spin-off to Ianucci’s TV series The Thick of It, In the Loop centers on the aftermath of a (mis)statement by a U.K. government official (Tom Hollander) that might just send Great Britain and the U.S. to war. Peter Capaldi is absolutely vicious as a communications director whose communication style does little to calm international relations, and James Gandolfini’s role as an American general makes us wish he’d been able to do more comedy. For more poison-dipped barbs, Ianucci’s latest film, Death of Stalin (2017), is just as good, while it satirizes the struggle for power in Cold War-era Russia. If you want to retain any faith in government, it’s perhaps best to skip these two, but the more cynical will revel in their inky black brand of comedy.
3. Dave (1993)
For anyone who feels politics is purely about self-interest, watching Ivan Reitman’s optimistic comedy may be just what you need. Regular guy Dave (Kevin Kline) bears a striking resemblance to President Bill Mitchell (also Kline), so when the leader of the free world has a debilitating stroke, Dave is brought in by the power-hungry chief of staff (Frank Langella) to impersonate the president. The swap fools the American people – and a bunch of real-life politicians and pundits from both sides of the aisle who make cameos – but the First Lady (Sigourney Weaver) suspects something is up. Kline is sweet and silly as a man who’s gleeful about everything the role entails, but especially the chance to help people. Dave (both the film and the character) is refreshingly earnest and a reminder that some people who work in public service take the “service” part of the title seriously.
4. Thank You for Smoking (2006)
Before Juno and Up in the Air, Jason Reitman (son of Dave’s Ivan Reitman) made his directorial debut with a movie that wasn’t anywhere near as idealistic as his father’s political comedy was in the previous decade. Instead, Thank You for Smoking has a caustic wit that burns on contact, thanks to Reitman’s script and the lead performance from Aaron Eckhart. The actor stars as a tobacco lobbyist whose brand of smarm and charm makes him excel at his job and attracts the attention of extreme anti-smoking activists. Based on Christopher Buckley’s novel, Thank You for Smoking is broad in its aims, targeting the tobacco industry as well as elected officials’ cozy relationships with lobbyists. Even Hollywood itself doesn’t emerge unscathed for its role in promoting the deadly habit. This could be dire stuff in other hands, but Reitman ably balances the film’s tone, a feat that’s particularly impressive for a first film.
5. Dick (1999)
The Oscar-winning drama All the President’s Men may be the more historically accurate on-screen reflection of the Watergate scandal, but Dick is certainly the more fun one. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams star as two giggly girls who accidentally stumble upon the Watergate break-in, causing Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya) to hire them as presidential dog walkers to keep them close and quiet. He and his staff assume the teens know what’s going on, but these delightful ditzes don’t know much of anything. Director Andrew Fleming’s cast features alumni from Saturday Night Live and Kids in the Hall, including Will Ferrell and Bruce McCulloch as Woodward and Bernstein, as well as a young Ryan Reynolds. Dick is steeped in the ‘70s, and its retro fashion and decor are almost as much fun as its silly plotline and goofy portrayals of towering historical figures.
6. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love the Bomb (1964)
When children were doing duck-and-cover drills in elementary schools, a comedy about nuclear annihilation seems like it should have been ill-timed. But after the success of Paths of Glory, Spartacus, and Lolita, director Stanley Kubrick turned his attention to his adaptation of the novel Red Alert, with his sharply honed script turning the oh-so-serious source material into a hilariously pointed satire. Rogue U.S. general Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) has launched a nuclear attack on the U.S.S.R at the height of the Cold War, and it’s up to a room of political and military leaders to stop him – and stop mutually assured destruction. George C. Scott is a live wire as General Buck Turgidson, while Peter Sellers plays a trio of roles, all to perfection: a British Air Force captain, the U.S. president, and the deranged doctor of the title. Kubrick’s classic isn’t just one of the best political comedies ever; it’s simply one of the best films ever.
7. Election (1999)
The stakes are much smaller in this high-school-set satire than in most of the films on this list, but Alexander Payne’s Election still smartly skewers politics on a national level. Reese Witherspoon’s type-A Tracy Flick is running unopposed for student body president, but history teacher Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick) doesn’t want to see the ambitious overachiever win. He convinces popular but dim football player Paul Metzler (Chris Klein) to run against her, sparking an election filled with corruption and tampering. Election isn’t quite as scathing – or as controversial – as Payne’s previous film, Citizen Ruth, but it’s even better in its execution, as darkly funny as it is smart. Even if you’re years beyond graduation, or perhaps especially if you are, Election is still surprisingly relevant two decades after its initial release.
Long Shot is in theaters this weekend. Get your tickets here.
