My Fellow Americans

My Fellow Americans is a 1996 comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents. Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford and Jeff Yagher also appear in supporting performances. The film is named for the traditional opening of Presidential addresses to the American people. Originally Lemmon's perennial collaborator, Walter Matthau, was slated to co-star. However, health problems kept Matth... more

My Fellow Americans is a 1996 comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents. Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford and Jeff Yagher also appear in supporting performances. The film is named for the traditional opening of Presidential addresses to the American people. Originally Lemmon's perennial collaborator, Walter Matthau, was slated to co-star. However, health problems kept Matthau from appearing in the film and Garner was instead chosen to star opposite Lemmon in their only project together. Former United States Presidents Russell P. Kramer (Lemmon) and Matt Douglas (Garner) have spent the past thirty years hating each other. The movie starts out with the Republican Senator Kramer of Ohio winning the Presidential election, narrowly defeating Democratic Indiana Governor Douglas in a very close race. We hear Kramer's trademark speech, "Our dreams are like our children ... " He says he hopes their stay in Washington is... less