My Fellow Americans is a 1996 American political comedy film directed by Peter Segal. It stars Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents, with Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford, Everett McGill, and Jeff Yagher in supporting roles. The film is named after the sentence for the traditional opening of presidential addresses to the American people. Walter Matthau was slated to star in the film, but he dropped out and Garner was chosen to star with Lemmon for their first film together.
Plot
Republican senator Russell Kramer of Ohio wins the presidential election, narrowly defeating archrival Democratic governor Matt Douglas of Indiana. Four years later, Douglas wins a landslide victory over the now-incumbent Kramer. Another four years later, Kramer's former vice president, William Haney, defeats Douglas. Haney's vice president, Ted Matthews, is widely seen as an idiot, and becomes a continuing embarrassment for the administration. Three more years later, Kramer is spending his time writing books and speaking at various inconsequential functions, while Douglas is finishing his own book and going through a divorce.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party learns about "Olympia", the codename for a series of bribes from defense contractor Charlie Reynolds paid to Haney when he was vice president. The Democratic National Committee chairman, Joe Hollis, asks Douglas to investigate. Hollis offers the support of the Democratic Party for a presidential run in return for his help. Douglas accepts, hoping to beat Haney and get back into the Oval Office. Meanwhile, Haney and his Chief of Staff Carl Witnaur plot to frame Kramer for the scandal, despite Haney's private acknowledgment to Witnaur that Kramer had known nothing about it. When rumors begin to suggest that Kramer was involved in Olympia, he begins his own investigation.
NSA agent Colonel Paul Tanner has Reynolds assassinated when he attempts to tell Douglas the truth about Olympia. Kramer arrives at the scene to find Douglas with Reynolds' body. Before they can flee, Douglas and Kramer are forced to board Marine One by Tanner, who claims that they will be taken to Camp David for their security at the request of Haney. During the flight, Douglas realizes that they are heading in the wrong direction. Suspicious, they force the pilots to land. They disembark just before the helicopter explodes.
Kramer and Douglas are left stranded, with the realization that the explosion was meant to kill them. They decide to go to Kramer's Presidential Library in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, to obtain records the overly frugal Kramer kept of all meals served during his time in the White House, which will prove that Haney was present at a key meeting with Reynolds. During a series of misadventures, they meet a variety of ordinary Americans and see the effects their terms in office have had. After several close encounters with NSA agents, they arrive at the library and discover that the evidence has been tampered with to implicate Kramer. A guard gives Kramer a message from Reynolds' secretary stating that Witnaur had recently met with Reynolds. Douglas and Kramer kidnap Witnaur and with Joe Hollis's help, force him to reveal the plot to frame Kramer, though Witnaur claims to have no knowledge of the attempts on their lives, blaming Tanner. They at first decide to report Witnaur's confession to Kay Griffin, a journalist, but Douglas, reflecting upon their adventure, convinces Kramer to go directly to the White House to confront Haney personally, seeing it as a chance of redemption for their poor choices as Presidents.
They manage to sneak into the White House with the help of the White House Executive Chef Rita and make it to the Executive Residence only to discover that Haney is giving a press conference outside. Tanner traps Douglas and Kramer in a guest room but they utilize a secret tunnel to escape while the NSA gives chase. Tanner catches up with them and is about to shoot them when he himself is killed by Secret Service Sniper Lieutenant Ralph Fleming, who has recognized the presidents from a chance encounter at a gay pride parade during their adventure.