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orResjlHail to the chief, he’s done it again.
lob Reiner has set himself apart from the
1 to v tollywood pack with his ability to tell a
hesaioitory through film.
inproljflis film’s never seem to drag and always
mvetnave something poignant to say — The
American President not only fits this mold,
lajornut is one of Reiner’s best examples of it.
ieenajplrhe film is incredibly realistic — not
imetc that it is really possible for any viewers to
I liberinow. But Reiner and his staff spent
party, lours in the White House watching Presi-
ewsanlent Bill Clinton at work. What results is
izationsflasual but stressful portrayal of the
ly punclsad character. President Andrew Shep-
presideiv.erd (Michael Douglas).
jjghScti Shepherd, a widower who often takes
ke to ime out of his schedule to spend with his
out tsfre-teen daughter, finds himself attracted to
n environmental lobbyist, Sydney Ellen
Vade (Annett Bening).
initial courting could not be present-
*rify in a more charming way. Piverything is
^ *^oelievable and shows the awkwardness and
I r difficulty that come with the presidential
>nce
isitiof,
VIEW
m President
Starring IVlichae! Douglas,
Annett Bening and Martin
Sheen
Directed by Rob Reiner
Rated PG-13
Playing at Hollywood 16
(out of five)
dating scene
[The fairy tale is threatened when the
president’s new girlfriend spends the
t - v 1 night at the White House and the press
eru ' corps breaks the story.
the iWgenator Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), a
presidential candidate and all-around bad
' cxt fly, jumps at the opportunity to use the
18 president’s romance to. attack his character
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and spin the polls in his favor.
The movie is enjoyable from start to fin
ish. If the audience is not captivated by the
romance, it is watching in amazement as the
president coolly glides through his duties. In
a perfect heroic struggle. Shepherd keeps his
proverbial other cheek turned as his reputa
tion collapses around him.
Douglas captures Shepherd’s integrity,
but brings enough skill to add several
other dimensions to his character. One
minute Shepherd is posturing himself to
be in complete control of his budding ro
mance, and the next minute he is speech
less in the face of Wade’s sexual ad
vances. Douglas carries it all off without a
hitch, adding more humor and life to the
role than would actually fit the repertoire
of most real presidents.
Although the portrayal of the president
may seem to present the greatest chal
lenge, all the characters in this film were
handled well. Each role seems as if it was
written for the actor who filled it. For ex
ample, Michael J. Fox’s portrayal of the
president’s workaholic advisor is perfect.
It’s Alex P. Keaton grown up but working
for the other side.
Which brings us to politics, something
this movie makes no attempt to avoid.
Reiner, who played the liberal Michael
Stivic (“Meathead” to Archie Bunker) on
All in the Family, makes heros out of lib
erals and villains out of conservatives
who are bent to destroy Shepherd’s char
acter — sound familiar?
Obviously this aspect of the film will
make some people (Mario Cuomo) enjoy it
even more and make others (Bob Dole) de
spise it. However, this film tells such a great
story that anyone, with the aide of blinders if
necessary, can enjoy it.
The one weakness of the movie is the
its all-too-neat ending — a problem
shared by the copout ending of A Few
Good Men. An argument can be made
that these movies can’t end any other
way, but Reiner actually borrows a page
from the ultra-cheesy Dave at one point.
The way the president can captivate the
press corps with a moving speech about
the country’s direction while tying it into
his love life is totally unbelievable. Shred
it and throw it on salad, but the film can
do without it.
Despite this weakness, Reiner delivers
another story that entertains audiences with
captivating filmmaking. The American Presi
dent is a realistic fairy tale. It’s no wonder
that it’s doing so well in the polls.
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ACROSS THE STREET
BAR
PRESENTS
TEXAS A&M
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For more information, call:
IA.CROSS THE STREET BAR
5625 Yale Blvd • Dallas,Tx.
214/ 363-0660
Questions, Concerns, Comments?
Talk with your Vice President
for Student Affairs.
If you have any thoughts or concerns regarding student life
here at A&M, I’m very interested in hearing them. I am
Malon Southerland, your Vice-President for Student Affairs
and my office is on the 10th floor of Rudder Tower. My door
is always open and I encourage you to come by if I can ever
be of assistance. Feel free to call me anytime at 845-4728 or
contact me through e-mail:
malon-southerland@tamu.edu
DOMINICA
Spend your first summer session in the rainforest of
the "NATURE ISLAND" while earning TAMU credit!
For more information contact
Dr. Keith Arnold Dr. James Woolley
202 Nagle M.B. Heep 315
845-5777 845-9349
or
Study Abroad Programs Office
161 Bizzell Hall West
845-0544
HURRY! SPACES ARE LIMITED!
Director visits campus
as favor to students
By Amy Collier
The Battalion
When Carrie Thompson, presi
dent of the Texas Environmental
Action Coalition, went to an envi
ronmental conference at the Uni
versity of North Carolina last
month, she did not expect to meet
someone she admires.
Thompson ran into Barbara
Dudley, executive director of
Greenpeace, at a luncheon. Dur
ing their conversation, Thompson
was surprised again when Dudley
volunteered to speak at A&M.
“It’s an incredible opportunity
and an incredible honor,”
Thompson said. “She’s just doing
it out of kindness.”
Dudley is presenting “Building
an Environmental Movement for
the 21st Century” in 601 Rudder
today at 10:30 a. m.
“It’s a really good opportunity
for this campus,” Thompson said.
“The more people that attend, the
better.”
Marcy Hirschfeld, assistant to
Dudley, said Dudley will give a
brief overview of where the envi
ronmental movement used to be,
where it is now and where it is go
ing. She said Dudley emphasizes
to students that they have the re
sponsibility and power to start an
environmental movement.
“I’m sure she just sees it as a
wonderful opportunity to reach
out to students,” Hirschfeld
said. “She know students have a
lot of energy.”
Thompson, a senior geogra
phy / environmental studies
major, said she hopes students
from all of the major environ
mental groups on campus go to
the speech. She said she wants
the speech to help begin a
strong environmental move
ment on campus.
“We hope it will be a catalyst to
spark a movement here,” she
said. “There’s a lot to do. Our
main goal for now is to start some
serious discussion.”
TEAC will help to start serious
discussion about the environment
by hosting an open discussion
based on Dudley’s speech tonight
in 510 Rudder at 8:30 p.m.
“Having a common experience
will make it easier for us to have
dialogue on something,” Thomp
son said. “It’s one thing they can
talk about in common. We’re just
hoping to get all of the different
perspectives. All of the perspec
tives will help us to build a more
meaningful movement here.”
Hirschfeld said she hopes en
vironmental groups on the
A&M campus will be influenced
by Dudley’s speech to help the
environment.
"A lot of people have a
lot of preconceived no
tions about Greenpeace."
—Carrie Thompson
president of TEAC
“It would be wonderful if they
found a shared purpose,” she
said. “Certainly, they could do a
lot together.”
Greenpeace is an environmen
tal organization formed in 1971
with the purpose of creating a
green and peaceful world. The or
ganization follows the principle
that whatever the risk, environ
mentalists can change harmful
practices to the environment by
taking an unwavering stance at
the scene of environmental harm.
The actions of Greenpeace
members sometimes cause the or
ganization to be stereotyped as
liberal and radical.
“A lot of people have a lot of
preconceived notions about
Greenpeace and environmental
ists,” Thompson said. “I hope peo
ple come with an open mind.”
Hirschfeld said people should
not classify Dudley, or anyone, as
a liberal just because they care
about the environment.
“There are cfinte a few legis
lators in this country who are
conservatives and environmen
talists,” she said. “I think Bar
bara is simply interested in get
ting as many students involved
in the environmental issues as
she can.
“I would encourage students to
come with an open mind and just
hear what Barbara has to say
about environmentalism. The
most important thing to do is to
get involved now.”
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