View source for My Fellow Americans

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A well made, if mostly forgotten 1996 dark-comedy films starring [[Jack Lemmon]] and [[James Garner]] as two politically (and personally) opposed former-Presidents who are forced to go on the run together after they find themselves on the receiving end of a conspiracy to hide the current President having taken a kickback. While not the best film ever made, it's funny and enjoyable and manages to have more brains than the average buddy comedy.

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* [[Accidental Kidnapping]]: When Kramer and Douglas plan on stealing Wayne and Genny's car to continue on their trip to Kramer's Library, they only turn back when they see a child in the backseat.
* [[Actor Allusion]]: James Garner's character rides expertly. James Garner's career began primarily in Westerns.
* [[Axe Crazy]]: Tanner.
* [[Batman Gambit]] / [[Xanatos Roulette]]:  {{spoiler|Vice-President Matthews}} has a fairly impressive one going on.
* [[Camp Gay]] / [[Invisible to Gaydar]]:  {{spoiler|Ralph Flemming}} manages to be BOTH. Impressive.
* [[Chekhov's Gun]]:  {{spoiler|The Freedom Ring necklace.}}
* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]:  {{spoiler|Ralph Flemming.}}
* [[Curse Cut Short]]:
{{quote|''My Fellow Americans...''
''You son of a bit-''] }}
** Doubles as a [[Call Back]] to a [[Running Gag]].
* [[Delusions of Eloquence]]: Matthews. Justified because, well, he ''is'' a Vice President (and he's clearly modeled after Dan Quayle.)
* [[Fantastically Indifferent]]: Hollis.
* [[Gallows Humor]]: ''"...They're down."''
* [[Groin Attack]]: From riding a horse: ''"When this is over promise me we'll come back and look for my balls."''
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: The [[Memetic Mutation|diabeetus guy]] is the head of the Democratic National Committee.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Oh so many.
* [[Indy Ploy]]: ''"What am I, [[Precision F-Strike|fuckin]] [[MacGyver]]? I'm makin this up as I go."''
* [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]]: Douglas is clearly modeled on [[Bill Clinton]] whereas Kramer is clearly modeled on [[George H. W. Bush]].
* [[Not So Different]]: The entire point of the movie is that if Douglas and Kramer hadn't spent so much time trying to politically destroy each other, they might have been friends.
* [[Precision F-Strike]]: Subverted. The movie's one use of the F Word goes by so quickly that if you're not paying attention you might miss it.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Douglas and Kramer, respectively.
* [[Title Drop]]: See above.
* [[Torture Always Works]]: Subverted. He never actually gets tortured, he cracks under the threat.
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: By the end of the film.
* [[What Could Have Been]]: This was supposed to be another entry in the revived Jack Lemmon-Walter Matthau series of comedies that ''[[Grumpy Old Men]]'' revived. Matthau bowed out due to illness.

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[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:My Fellow Americans]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]