Movies with Corrupt Presidents
Some of the best conspiracy movies feature presidents who are crooked, corrupt, or just downright sinister. If you’ve always suspected that the commander-in-chief was up to something in the Oval Office, these entertaining flicks will confirm your suspicions.
Absolute Power (1997) – Clint Eastwood stars as a aging jewel thief who witnesses Secret Service agents gun down a young woman following her tryst with the President of the United States (Gene Hackman). Eastwood also directed, and the film co-stars Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Laura Linney.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) – No matter what you think of President George W. Bush, filmmaker Michael Moore will do his best over the course of 122 minutes to convince you that he’s corrupt. Liberal propaganda and an entertaining movie all rolled into one.
JFK (1991) – Oliver Stone’s frantic look at the events surrounding the Kennedy assassination and the subsequent investigation by a New Orleans district attorney (Kevin Costner). Kennedy isn’t portrayed as corrupt, but successor Lyndon Johnson sure is.
All the President’s Men (1976) – Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman star as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, a pair of real-life reporters for the Washington Post who expose the Watergate scandal and force the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Frost/Nixon (2008) – A journalist desperate for a scoop (Michael Sheen) arranges for a series of interviews with disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella). Based on a true story, the film is directed by Ron Howard and adapted from the successful play (which also starred Sheen and Langella).
Dick (1999) – A revisionist comedy in which President Richard Nixon (Dan Hedaya) is brought down by a pair of dimwitted teenagers (Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams) and some cookies laced with marijuana.
The President’s Last Bang (2005) – Presidents outside the U.S. can also be corrupt, which this South Korean black comedy adequately demonstrates with an account of the last hours of real-life President Park Chung-hee.
My Fellow Americans (1996) – Jack Lemmon and James Garner bicker as a pair of former presidents who survive an assassination attempt and begin to investigate possible wrongdoing by the current commander-in-chief (Dan Aykroyd). Jon Heard is hilarious as the doofus vice-president who’s an obvious clone of Dan Quayle.
Whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, we can all agree on one thing: our leader in the White House has probably murdered a high-priced call girl or ordered a plucky reporter assassinated. Perhaps that’s an exaggeration, or maybe these movies with corrupt presidents and conspiracies offer us an unique insight into what goes on behind the scenes.
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