“I was insanely lucky on my 4th assignment as a DGA Trainee to work on Rob’s film “The American President.” Rob was pretty much at the top of his game at that time and was working with the best in the business. The cast and crew were incredibly talented and also kind. The hours were incredible, we would generally wrap before 6pm each day. We had the best crafts service and catering team and Rob would have his massage therapist stay after lunch and give the crew free massages. Someone on the show randomly said to me, this is the best show you’ll ever work on, and being an inexperienced 20 something I thought, yeah right, you’ll see…. Well, that guy wasn’t wrong.” – Laura Sylvester, DGA
From 1984 to 1992 Rob Reiner went on a legendary run, directing SEVEN classic films. This site has already covered The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and Misery. He seemed incapable of missing, which is why it was downright bizarre when 1994’s North came out. It was like all the bad that plagues filmmakers throughout their career was stored up and finally uncorked in this one film. It was the end of the legendary run, but not the end of Reiner directing classics.
There’s no clear story about the development of the screenplay for The American President. Robert Redford was involved early on with the idea of a widowed President who falls in love while in office. Screenwriter William Richert developed the story initially, but Reiner wanted to shift the focus from a romantic story to a more political one and Redford walked away. Enter Aaron Sorkin, hot off A Few Good Men, who had so many ideas that his original draft was 385 pages. A lot of the discarded material was used for The West Wing.
Over his career, it’s become increasingly clear that Sorkin is great with dialogue but perhaps weakest when it comes to romantic relationships. Reiner got that out of Sorkin by their shared love of Screwball Comedies of the 1930s and 40s. The political load was lightened by a playful “Capraesque” tone referenced directly in the film. This strengthened the central romance in ways that are funny, like when the President calls Sydney Ellen Wade for a date. That date, the state dinner where they dance together, is romantic in the Classic Hollywood tradition.
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