My Fellow Americans (1996)

48% of critics liked it
(40 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(8,304 ratings)

In this comedy, Russell P. Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and Matt Douglas (James Garner) are two former U.S. Presidents who sit on opposite sides of the political fence. Kramer is a stuffy Republican reluctant to part with a dollar, while Douglas is a left-leaning Democrat with an eye for the ladies. Douglas… More In this comedy, Russell P. Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and Matt Douglas (James Garner) are two former U.S. Presidents who sit on opposite sides of the political fence. Kramer is a stuffy Republican reluctant to part with a dollar, while Douglas is a left-leaning Democrat with an eye for the ladies. Douglas succeeded Kramer in office after a single term, while Douglas, after four years as chief executive, lost to his former running mate William Haney (Dan Aykroyd). When the facts about a bribery scheme in Haney's administration threaten to surface and destroy his reputation, the ruthless president tries to pin the responsibility on Kramer and Douglas -- and when the ex-presidents learn the truth about Haney's dealings, Haney tries to have them killed before they can talk. Kramer and Douglas soon find themselves on the run, disguising themselves as celebrity impersonators, hiding out in the woods with a homeless family, and marching in a Gay Pride parade in an effort to stay clear of Haney's goons while they bring the truth to the people. My Fellow Americans also features Lauren Bacall as Kramer's long-suffering wife and John Heard as Haney's intellectually-challenged vice president. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Peter Segal, Bradley Whitford
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 20, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Aug 27, 1997
Studio: Warner Home Video

Critic Reviews

Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times
A gang-written comedy that doesn't have a political bone in its body, or much evidence of a funny one, either.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
Shameless laughs flow off the prefab assembly line with sufficient regularity to please audiences with a taste for comfortable tradition spiced with a bit of contempo naughtiness.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
This is not a great comedy and will be soon forgotten, but it has nice moments.
Susan Stark, Detroit News
The performers are first rate. Unfortunately, and all too often in movies these days, the script regularly lets them down.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
A shameless variation on the Grumpy Old Men films.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Strained and obvious political comedy that wastes some really great actors.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Garner and Lemmon's chemistry save the film.
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
Watch two grandmasters of comic timing snipe at each other for the length of a feature? Sure, where do I sign up?

Read all 8 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander D

For better or for worse, MY FELLOW AMERICANS gains its humor mostly by establishing itself within the first five minutes as a highly fictionalized, unrealistic account of two U.S. Presidents that would have never even gotten close to election. Each one of them behaves like a modern… More
For better or for worse, MY FELLOW AMERICANS gains its humor mostly by establishing itself within the first five minutes as a highly fictionalized, unrealistic account of two U.S. Presidents that would have never even gotten close to election. Each one of them behaves like a modern day âFourth Stooge,â and on top of that, neither one seems to care one bit about American issues such as racism and illegal immigration. (If anything, they both seem to accept it as an every day concept.) If any of the United States Presidents were to ever be anything like this, the world would be a much different place.
Phil H

Perfect casting as Jack Lemon and James Garner play American ex-Presidents in quite a believable way in both terms of looks and attitude. A brilliant team up with both actors being on top form with witty dialog and some great one two's as they bicker and fight across the Southern… More
Perfect casting as Jack Lemon and James Garner play American ex-Presidents in quite a believable way in both terms of looks and attitude. A brilliant team up with both actors being on top form with witty dialog and some great one two's as they bicker and fight across the Southern Appalachians trying to get their evidence of a conspiracy back to the current President. The film is really quite underrated and plays out so well with the two leads having superb timing and really nailing their moments with good old fashioned classic comedy. The plot isn't too complex, it looks really good with some great looking sets (I presume) of the White House, Airforce One plus some nice location work as the two stars bumble through nature. Was meant to be a Lemon and Matthau double team flick but to be honest I think this duo works better as Garner really fit the role so well, highly recommended :)
Lucas M

More or less, could be much better.
Candy R

Jack Lemmon and James Garner are rivals and ex- presidents.
Curtis L

A bunch of old guys fighting. It's got some fun stuff, for example the little songs they sing are often stuck in my head.
Tim S

You can't help bu ask "Where's Walter Mathua?" Otherwise, the film is very, very funny.
danny d

great flick, very entertaining
Drew S

Excruciatingly unfunny.
Sunil J

Grumpy Old Men in Washington. Kinda sweet.
Sarah P

Sort of like a presidential "grumpy old men", had its funny moments.