Feeling the election stress? Here's what to watch to unwind
As the nation and the globe anxiously await the outcome of the US presidential election this week, it's evident that tensions may be escalating. As polls conclude and results begin to emerge, a splendid way to detach while remaining somewhat within the political sphere is by delving into this "election-lite" collection of films designed to elicit a grin and hopefully offer a momentary sigh of – at least temporary – reprieve.
Featuring a delightfully unhinged Reese Witherspoon in her early career, this cinematic tour-de-force – marking its 25th anniversary this year – transforms a school election for student body president into a sprawling paranoid fantasy brimming with scandal. Matthew Broderick’s unnerving supporting role as a teacher ensnared in the chaos is the perfect counterbalance to his carefree, rebellious teen in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” from the previous decade.
Last year’s provocative romance, inspired by Casey McQuiston's novel, follows the First Son (Taylor Zakhar Perez) who finds himself enamored with the son of England's King (Nicholas Galitzine). The film's cheeky allure and popularity might just pave the way for a sequel.
Turning to presidential progeny, this 2004 comedy features Katie Holmes as the eponymous daughter navigating college life and romance under the ever-watchful gaze of Secret Service agents and paparazzi. Michael Keaton appears as the Commander-in-Chief.
From that innocently nostalgic era of the ’90s, this White House-set romantic comedy stars Annette Bening as an environmental lobbyist who falls for the president, portrayed by Michael Douglas. Still enchanting, despite its implausibility.
Filed under 'films that would never be produced today,' this 1998 satirical comedy starring Warren Beatty and Halle Berry chronicles a fallen politician who seizes the chance to be brutally candid with his electorate by adopting the cadence and vernacular of hip-hop culture, as the IMDb synopsis aptly describes. Directed and cowritten by Beatty, the film was an Oscar nominee for best original screenplay at the time.
In this mistaken identity comedy, Kevin Kline assumes dual roles as the president and his double who must impersonate him following a health crisis. Sigourney Weaver, as the First Lady who disdains her spouse but is intrigued by his doppelganger, is in her usual stellar form.
Watergate has inspired many a captivating narrative, from the ’70s classic “All the President’s Men” to last year’s “White House Plumbers,” yet this 1999 entry might be the most eccentric. Starring future Oscar-nominees Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as ’70s hippie girls who inadvertently become entangled in the scandal and with Nixon himself – portrayed with comedic flair by “Clueless” star Dan Hedaya.
