DAVE is the best doppelganger comedy of all time, filled with laughs, heart and a great cast led by Kevin Kline.
Kline plays President Bill Mitchell, detached, unpleasant and cheating on First Lady Ellen (Sigourney Weaver) at every turn.
Kline also plays Dave Kovic, kind-hearted temp agency owner and dead ringer for Mitchell.
Kovic makes some extra cash appearing as the President at car dealerships and grand openings, spinning a kinder version of Mitchell.
The Secret Service drafts Dave to double the President after a speech so the real Commander in Chief can meet staffer Randi (young Laura Linney) for a night of romance.
When Mitchell suffers a debilitating stroke at the height of passion, Chief of Staff Bob Alexander (a perfectly despicable Frank Langella) and staffer Alan Reed (hilarious Kevin Dunn) concoct a plan to move Dave into the President's chair to further their own needs.
Langella kills as the ultimate political insider, focused on manipulating Dave any way he needs to in order to sit in the Oval Office himself.
But Dave surprises.
There are plenty of laughs as every-man Dave finds himself enjoying the role and displaying quite a knack as the leader of the free world.
Fans of "Veep" will enjoy seeing Dunn in an early role the resonates perfectly with his current role as Ben Cafferty on the HBO sitcom.
Ving Rhames is terrific as Secret Service agent Stephenson, Ben Kingsley resonates as the Vice President and Charles Grodin steals every scene he's in as Dave's accountant at the temp agency making some late night visits to the White House.
Director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters, Stripes) and writer Gary Ross (Big, Seabiscuit) deliver some of their best work, filling Dave's term with hilarity and heart.
Langella has a blast playing against his usual serious roles. His high speed, apoplectic walk through the Capitol when Dave calls his own press conference is hilarious. Langella's "I can kill a hundred ordinary people" line is flawless.
Kline's great in both roles. No one does a double take quite like Kline.
Kline and Weaver have great chemistry in their scenes as they discover that neither are exactly who they expect.
And hey, that's my friend Tom Dugan in the opening and closing scenes as Jerry, Alice (Faith Prince)'s boyfriend. He's a fun part of the closing moments, which are guaranteed to make you smile. Love it, Tom!
Warren Beatty and Kevin Costner both turned down the role of Mitchell/Kovic, it's one of Kline's best.
It's loaded with cameos from real life politicians and news pundits, but the best cameo is from Oliver Stone, who appears on TV convinced that there is a conspiracy in motion and Mitchell is NOT really Mitchell. It's perfect.
DAVE delivers a landslide of laughs and clever storytelling more than 25 years after it's release and gets an A.
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