The Final Days (2000 film)

Last updated

The Final Days
Clinton in "The Final Days".jpg
Bill Clinton is shown washing the presidential state car in a scene from The Final Days.
The Final Days
Directed by Philip Rosenthal
Produced byPeter Hutchins
Starring
Release dates
  • April 29, 2000 (2000-April-29)(Washington, D.C.)
Running time
6 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12,000 [2]

The Final Days is a humorous short film produced by the White House to screen at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner in April 2000. It stars then-President of the United States Bill Clinton as himself. The film was designed by officials of the outgoing Clinton administration to neutralize media portrayals of Bill Clinton as a "lame duck" president by exaggerating that narrative to the point of absurdity.

Contents

Plot

The Final Days is a comedic look at Clinton's last days in the White House as he approached lame duck status. In it, he is shown "roaming the halls of an empty White House like a lost 222-pound [100 kg] puppy in search of a purpose". [3]

Production

Development

The idea for the film came from Clinton's joke writer Mark Katz who had observed that a dominant media narrative in the late days of the 2000 election was that the incumbent president, whose wife was campaigning for U.S. Senate while national attention was focused on the presidential contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush, was "increasingly being depicted as the lonely guy minding the store". [3] The film was intended to subvert that narrative by establishing ownership of it. [3] In a 2007 analysis of rhetorical humor in American political communication, Michael Andrew Phillips-Anderson argued that the film satirized, not Clinton, but rather the media who had suggested the president had advanced to lame duck status. By showing Clinton involved in mundane tasks that would be extraordinary for a U.S. president to undertake, such as answering the White House switchboard and practicing origami, the film served to erode such assertions by highlighting their absurdity. [4]

The full film.

Filming

The Final Days was filmed in and around the White House. Ultimately, several sequences shot by director Philip Rosenthal were not incorporated into the film, including one showing a crossword puzzle-playing Clinton phoning Vladimir Putin on the Moscow–Washington hotline (also known as the "red phone") to ask "what's a five-letter word for 'tasty Russian pancake'?" [2]

The film's production was financed by the Democratic Party. [1] [2]

Cast

The Final Days starred Bill Clinton as himself, with cameo appearances by a number of journalists and U.S. government officials, including: Helen Thomas, Madeleine Albright, Sam Donaldson, and Al Gore. Kevin Spacey also makes a brief appearance, as himself, retrieving the Academy Award he won at that year's Oscars for Best Actor (in the film American Beauty ) from Clinton. Commercial actor Mike Maronna plays the character "Stuart", a fictional White House staff member. [2] [5]

Release

The film's debuted at the White House Correspondents' Dinner held at the Washington Hilton on April 29, 2000. [1] [6]

Reception

The Final Days was well received by those attending the dinner. It was downloaded more than 200,000 times in the week following its debut, described by Entertainment Weekly as having gone "viral". [2] [7] [lower-alpha 1]

Some criticized the film, however. Susan Silver, a staff writer for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show , predicted that, as a result of the film's success, future presidents would be judged by voters on their ability to deliver a "laugh riot" rather than on substantive policy positions. [7]

See also

Notes

  1. Streaming video services had not been widely adopted by 2000, meaning most viewers had to download the film in its entirety in order to watch it.

Related Research Articles

The word "strategery" was used in a Saturday Night Live sketch, written by James Downey, airing October 7, 2000, which satirized the performances of George W. Bush and Al Gore, two candidates for President of the United States, during the first presidential debate for election year 2000. Bush, played by Comedian Will Ferrell, when asked by a mock debate moderator to "sum up, in a single word, the best argument for his candidacy", replied "strategery", satirizing Bush's reputation for mispronouncing words. SNL later released the episode as part of a video tape titled Presidential Bash 2000.

<i>Thats My Bush!</i> American television sitcom

That's My Bush! is an American television sitcom that aired on Comedy Central from April 4 to May 23, 2001. The show was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, a comedy-duo best known for creating South Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impeachment of Bill Clinton</span> 1998 presidential impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, was impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress on December 19, 1998, for "high crimes and misdemeanors". The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Clinton, with the specific charges against Clinton being lying under oath and obstruction of justice. Two other articles had been considered but were rejected by the House vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Rosenthal</span> American television writer and producer

Philip Rosenthal is an American television writer and producer who is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005). In recent years, he has presented food and travel documentaries I'll Have What Phil's Having on PBS and Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Milbank</span> American journalist (born 1968)

Dana Timothy Milbank is an American author and columnist for The Washington Post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Wilmore</span> American comedian

Elister Larry Wilmore is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2014, and hosted The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2015 and 2016. He is also the creator of the sitcom The Bernie Mac Show. He served as an executive producer for the ABC television series Black-ish, and is the co-creator, with Issa Rae, of the HBO television series Insecure. Since May 2017, he has hosted a podcast, Black on the Air, where he discusses current events and interviews guests. He is the host of the talk show Wilmore.

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a United States congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.

The Radio and Television Correspondents' Association of Washington, D.C. (RTCA) is an American broadcast journalism group of news reporters from around the world who cover the United States Congress. Founded in 1939, RTCA is best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C., not to be confused with the higher profile White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner</span> 2006 satirical speech

On April 29, 2006, American comedian Stephen Colbert appeared as the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, which was held in Washington, D.C., at the Hilton Washington hotel. Colbert's performance, consisting of a 16-minute podium speech and a 7-minute video presentation, was broadcast live across the United States on the cable television networks C-SPAN and MSNBC. Standing a few feet from U.S. President George W. Bush, in front of an audience of celebrities, politicians, and members of the White House Press Corps, Colbert delivered a controversial, searing routine targeting the president and the media. He spoke in the persona of the character he played on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a parody of conservative pundits such as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Gore</span> Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001

Albert Arnold Gore Jr. is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in the 2000 presidential election. He lost the electoral college vote 266–271 to Republican nominee George W. Bush, despite winning the popular vote by approximately 543,895 votes. The election concluded after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5–4 in Bush v. Gore against a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Florida on a re-count that would have likely given Gore a razor-thin lead in the state of Florida, had the re-count continued as planned. Gore is one of only five presidential candidates in American history to lose a presidential election despite winning the popular vote.

Colored people's time is an American expression referring to African Americans as frequently being late. It states that African Americans can have a relaxed or indifferent view of work ethic, which leads to them being labeled as lazy or unreliable.

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, commonly known as the Al Smith Dinner, is an annual white tie dinner in New York City to raise funds for Catholic charities supporting children of various needs in the Archdiocese of New York. Held at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on the third Thursday of October, it is hosted by the Archbishop of New York. It is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of Al Smith, who grew up in poverty and later became the Governor of New York four times and the first Catholic nominated as the Democratic candidate for the 1928 United States presidential election.

A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjournment, but also for any portion of a regular session that falls after an election. In current practice, any meeting of Congress after election day, but before the next Congress convenes the following January, is a lame-duck session. Prior to 1933, when the 20th Amendment changed the dates of the congressional term, the last regular session of Congress was always a lame-duck session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Wolf</span> American comedian

Michelle Wolf is an American comedian, writer, producer, and television host. She worked as a contributor and writer for Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. She spoke as the featured performer at the 2018 White House Correspondents' Dinner. She hosted the Netflix comedy talk show series The Break with Michelle Wolf and performed in the 2019 stand-up comedy special Joke Show.

Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner was an event part of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee to rival the traditional White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2017. The event was announced on January 30, 2017, and took place at the DAR Constitution Hall on April 29, 2017, at the same time as the planned WHCA event. It aired on TBS the same evening at 10:00 p.m. EST, followed by an encore uncensored broadcast at 11:00 p.m. on Twitter.

<i>Our Cartoon President</i> American animated satirical television series

Our Cartoon President is an American adult animated satirical television series that premiered on February 11, 2018 and ended on November 8, 2020, on Showtime. The series was created by Stephen Colbert, Chris Licht, Matt Lappin, Tim Luecke, and R. J. Fried and is based on a recurring segment from Colbert's late night talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The following is a timeline of the presidency of Bill Clinton from January 1, 1997, to December 31, 1997.

The following is a timeline of the presidency of Bill Clinton, from January 1, 2000 to January 20, 2001.

Olivier Knox is a French American journalist who is the chief Washington correspondent for Sirius XM. In addition to his career at Agence France-Presse and Yahoo News, he is most known for chairing the White House Correspondents' Association and for his reboot of the White House Correspondents Dinner into its original format, which saw the elimination of the tradition of having a comedian as the featured speaker and an absence of A-list celebrities at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidential transition of Bill Clinton</span>

The presidential transition of Bill Clinton began when he won the United States presidential election on November 3, 1992, and became the president-elect. Clinton was formally elected by the Electoral College on December 14, 1992. The results were certified by a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009, and the transition ended when Clinton was inaugurated at noon EST on January 20, 1993.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Final Days White House Correspondents' Dinner Skit". Clinton Digital Library. Clinton Presidential Center . Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Fretts, Bruce (May 12, 2000). "Bill Clinton Goes Viral". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Braswell, Sean (May 3, 2014). "Bill Clinton Bows Out in Style". OZY Media . Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  4. Phillips-Anderson, Michael (2007). A Theory of Rhetorical Humor in American Political Discourse. University of Maryland. pp. 96–101.
  5. "Clinton's 'Oscar' win slammed by Academy". The Guardian . August 16, 2000. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  6. "2000 White House Correspondents' Dinner". C-SPAN. C-SPAN . Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Peterson, Russell (2008). Strange Bedfellows: How Late-Night Comedy Turns Democracy into a Joke . Rutgers University Press. p.  182. ISBN   978-0813544762.