Kevin Kline is “Dave”, an unassuming fellow who is recruited by the Secret Service to double for the President of the USA whilst he goes for some extracurricular horizontal jogging. It’s a simple task. Turn up, smile, wave, don’t speak - then get in the car! Well that’s the theory, but when the actual president gets a bit too carried away with his activities, he ends up in a coma and “Dave” with a slightly longer booking in the Oval Office. It turns out that the First Couple aren’t especially close, so ambitiously ruthless Chief of Staff “Bob” (Frank Langella) decides that so long as he can keep this predicament secret for long enough, he can manoeuvre himself into pole position for the succession. First Lady “Ellen” (Sigourney Weaver) is no fool though and she quickly spots a change in her now charming, friendly and clever husband. Now, think “Man in the Iron Mask”, only this mask is one of public relations as she and “Dave” start to realise the potential for themselves and their country from this situation. As he does so often, Langella steals his scenes - especially as the plot thickens and his lucidity comes into comedy question, but there are also quite a fun series of scenes from Ben Kingsley as the hapless VP “Nance” and from Ving Rhames as his no-nonsense body guard. There’s plenty of fun chemistry between Weaver and Kline as it rolls along and by the end, you are definitely rooting for the little guy.
