Fake Presidents

Richard Belzer -- comedian, author, legendary TV cop, famed conspiracy theorist -- plays the POTUS in this very R-rated sequel to 1995's very R-rated sci-fi frightener SPECIES.  After playing Det. Munch on various Law & Orders, Homicide, The Wire, the X-files, multiple comedies, and a few other shows you've never heard of, how does Belzer's fake president fit into the "Munchiverse"?  Could he secr...

How well do movies with fake presidents do at the Academy Awards?  Let's find out...

1996's FIRST KID stars Sinbad as a secret service agent assigned to protect a bratty kid. The movie features one actor who is currently VERY searchable in the Epstein files, and another actor who is currently under arrest in the State of New Mexico. But that's not why we picked it. In fact, we picked it before we knew just how timely this movie would wind up being this very month. Oh, and it was d...

What does 2017's KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (aka Kingsman 2 ) have to do with New Year's Eve, the holiday season, or even anything in the month of December? NOTHING!  But our original choice wasn't streaming on any services this month, so we decided to finally circle around back to one of our fav fake presidential actors, the legendary Bruce Greenwood, last seen (by us) as the potus in NATIONAL T...

Eric watched a movie Ben didn't watch. Ben watched one Eric didn't watch. And together they watched a TV series that they both thought had a fake president in it, but didn't. Or did it?  In this Thanksiving potluck of an episode where each host is bringing something to feast on, we've got Stephen Colbert as "The President" in Dreamworks' 2009 animated movie MONSTERS VS. ALIENS. We've got another r...

Ice Cube and his two adult-ish children are Earth's last line of defense in the latest incarnation of H.G. Wells seminal, sci-fi classic WAR OF THE WORLDS. Eva Longoria, Clark Gregg, and Andrea Savage are in it, too, as is voice artist hall-of-famer Jim Meskimon as the "POTUS." It's a "movie" that is: - 60% Reaction shots of Ice Cube, staring at a screen - 39% Reycled stock footage where the maker...

John Cena is an actor-turned-U.S. President and Idris Elba is a soldier-turned-U.K. Prime Minister in HEADS OF STATE, a brand new Amazon Prime action-buddy-comedy that at times feels straight from the 90s. But are the movie's politics straight from the 90s, too? And what connection might this movie have to Chris Rock's 2003 comedy HEAD OF STATE? Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, Jack Quaid, Carla Gugino, Pad...

The world is on the brink of an AI-fueled global thermonuclear apocalpyse and only one superspy* can save it... and only one U.S. President can help him save it.  Angela Bassett is that President in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING. How did she get elected? Will she get a second term? What's her approval ratings? That's our mission to figure out... (*Ethan Hunt is technically a spy, right...

What happens when crypto-minded terrorists led by Antony Starr (THE BOYS) take over a summit of world leaders in South Africa?  It's up to Viola Davis as the U.S. President to take him down in Amazon Prime's G20. Clark Gregg (THE AVENGERS) is the homebound Vice President, Ramón Rodriquez (WILL TRENT) is the President's favorite secret service agent, Elizabeth Marvel (HOMELAND) is the brave-ish tre...

It's Wes Anderson meets PADDINGTON meets CLUE, all set in the White House. Well, not the ENTIRE White House. Just... THE RESIDENCE! This hit Netflix series from Shondaland presents an offbeat murder mystery wrapped up in some truly excellent production design.  The series goes into details of how the White House works that have never been seen on screen before. But what about the Fake President? D...

In Netflix's 6-part series ZERO DAY, Robert De Niro plays a former U.S President with cognitive issues (who chose not to run for reelection), and Angela Bassett is a current U.S. President with a great wardrobe. Together they must figure out who perpetrated the greatest, deadliest hack in U.S. history! Well, actually, it's mostly just De Niro doing the figuring and the outing. Joan Allen, Jesse Pl...

In Hulu's newest TV series PARADISE , James Marsden is a murdered U.S. president, and Sterling K. Brown is the Secret Service agent at the center of the investigation. Oh, and (SPOILER ALERT) the whole series takes place in [REDACTED] because [REDACTED] and the truth is that [REDACTED] also [REDACTED] and everyone is [REDACTED]. From Dan Fogelman, who also wrote THIS IS US and CARS . Find us at Fa...

Happy Presidents Day! To mark the occasion, we rushed out opening weekend to check out the return of Harrison Ford to the White House. Well, technically, in AIR FORCE ONE , Ford never made it to the White House, but this time, in Marvel's CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD , Indy gets scenes in the Oval, in the Rose Garden, in the Residence, in a battleship, and he even gets some more action aboard...

We cover 2000's THE CONTENDER starring Jeff Bridges as a U. S. president sometime between 2007 and 2010. Joan Allen is a senator nominated to fill an open VP slot who refuses to address any allegations of sexual impropriety in her past. Gary Oldman is a congressman trying to destroy her during the confirmation hearings.  Does anyone actually read these show notes? Do we need to mention that Christ...

Let's close out the year by digging into some messages from listeners, and then look ahead at the year to come in fake White Houses! Topics covered: Who do we think should play a president that hasn't? A listener suggests our next movie to cover... should we do it?! Our preview of upcoming movies and shows on our radar, including Shondaland's THE RESIDENCE and Dan Fogelman's PARADISE. Is RED ONE s...

What? You don't remember there being a POTUS in 2012's Christopher Nolan-directed, Christian Bale-starring THE DARK KNIGHT RISES? Neither did we!  But there is one, and he's got a whole monologue and everything!   Find us on Instagram , Threads , and Bluesky , or email us at fakepresidents [at] gmail.com to join the convo!

This Halloween, let's take a spookily ironic look at every president ever portrayed in any episode of any version of THE TWILIGHT ZONE! (It's not that many) Believe it or not, it wasn't until Jordan Peele's 2019 reboot of The Twilight Zone that we got the series' first truly fake president. In "The Wunderkind," John Cho stars as a hotshot campaign manager, Jacob Tremblay as the 11-year-old candida...

Did you know there's a fake president in Jason Statham's pulpy, hit actioner THE BEEKEEPER? We didn't! Not until a listener gave us the heads up.  British thespian Jemma Redgrave plays the American president. Josh Hutcherson is her not-quite-failson. Jeremy Irons is back in Alfred-mode. And Minnie Driver inexplicably gets a couple scenes for no real apparent reason. We know what this movie says ab...

It's the last cinematic voyage of the original Enterprise crew, but the first (and only) for the new Federation President, played by The 70s Show's Kurtwood Smith.  Kurtwood joins William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, as well as Star Trek newcomers Kim Cattrall, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, and... Christian Slater? What...

From a Ken Doll in fatigues to "action figures" with kung fu grip to an afterschool cartoon and finally to... a live action theatrical release! It's 2009's G.I. JOE: RISE OF CORBA. The fictional President is nameless, but is he also faceless? (Well...technically, yes, in a way, but we'll get to that...) THE MUMMY'S Stephen Sommers directs a cast of literally thousands (of names).  Every character...

It's a house divided in this episode as our hosts have very differing takes on just how successfully this new film from writer/director Alex Garland (ANNILHILATION, EX MACHINA) infuses its narrative with grounded politics... and whether it needs to at all? Nick Offerman gets an upgrade from municpal parks and rec employee to POTUS.  Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen McKinley...

In the spring of 2022, a new play opened on Broadway called "POTUS," with the lengthy subtitle: "OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE."  From the director of "THE PRODUCERS" (the Broadway musical), this comedy starred Vanessa Williams, Julianne Hough, Rachel Dratch, Suzy Nakamura, Lilli Cooper, Lea DeLaria, and Julie White. Neither of us were able to catch it.  B...

Eric couldn't sleep and happened upon a late night rerun of a classic TV show from the 80s that suprisingly had a fake president. Which got us wondering... what other TV classics have one-off, nearly disposable fake presidents?! Oh, and we talk about Gareth Edwards'  THE CREATOR . Well, we talk about whether or not we should talk about it. 00:00 - INTRO 03:01 - THE CREATOR 07:48 - HIGHWAY TO HEAVE...

We finally get to do something we don't usually get to do...speculate about the future! Ben and Eric take a look at two new trailers with heaps of potential for (prestige) fake POTUSes to see what 2024 may have in store for fictional politics.  Nick Offerman is a fake president while America is torn asunder in Alex Garland's CIVIL WAR? Kate Winslet is the head-of-state of a fascistic European nati...

A "Hallmark-style" holiday rom-com featuring a fake president? Of course we had to watch it! (So you don't have to!) CHRISTMAS AT THE HOLLY HOTEL is a fictional movie about a real hotel that once played a role in George H.W. Bush's ill-fated reelection campaign. It stars no one you'll recognize, directed by no one you've heard of, but it's made lovingly by people who seem to care very much about g...