Dave is a 1993 comedy-drama movie written by Gary Ross, directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Kline (in a dual role), Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, and Laura Linney. Ross was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay. Kline's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Kline plays Dave Kovic, who runs a temporary employment agency in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.. As a sideline, he makes appearances impersonating President William Harrison "Bill" Mitchell, whom he greatly resembles (and who is also played by Kline). Mitchell's devious Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander (Frank Langella), hires Kovic to make an exit at an appearance of President Mitchell, to cover up Mitchell's extramarital affair with White House staffer Randi (Laura Linney).

When the real President Mitchell suffers a stroke during the affair that leaves him in a coma, Bob Alexander sees an opportunity. Along with Communications Director Alan Reed (Kevin Dunn), Alexander arranges for the President's comatose state to be kept secret. They then con Kovic into impersonating the president on an ongoing basis by telling him that the country would suffer if the truth was revealed or if Vice President Gary Nance (Ben Kingsley), who they say is mentally ill, took office. Apart from them, only his Secret Service bodyguard, Duane Stevenson (Ving Rhames), knows the truth (in addition, Reed explains paying hush money to the medical staff tending to the real President Mitchell in the White House basement). Neither Mitchell's mistress Randi nor First Lady Ellen Mitchell (Sigourney Weaver) is informed of the switch.

Alexander's true agenda is to exercise the power of the presidency through Kovic as a proxy. However, Kovic gradually sets his own course of action, which revives Mitchell's popularity with the public and mystifies both the Washington media (several well-known personalities make cameo appearances as themselves) and the First Lady, whose public support of her husband has been a cover for bitter marital strife in their private life. When he takes the extreme action of reworking (with the help of his friend Murray from Baltimore) the national budget in order to save a $650 million program for helping the homeless -- a project the First Lady supported but Alexander wanted vetoed -- she tricks him into exposing his ruse. With this development, Kovic holds a news conference announcing that he is firing Bob Alexander.

Eventually, Kovic meets Vice President Nance, who chastises "Mitchell" for isolating Nance from the cabinet by sending him out of the country on a public relations junket. Kovic comes to realize that the affable Nance isn't insane, but merely has ideological differences with Alexander. They end up bonding one night when Nance discusses his rise from being an unhappy shoe salesman to being the Vice President. He is also exposed to Ellen, whom he has to convince to hang around in order to maintain the ruse. Despite Ellen's cynicism, she is soon charmed by Kovic's sincere desire to use his position to improve the nation.

Eventually Bob Alexander tries to destroy Kovic by exposing a scandal that implicates Mitchell and Nance, and pushing his own candidacy for the Presidency. Kovic thinks it's a lie, but Reed tells him that Mitchell is actually culpable in the scandal. In a joint session of Congress, Kovic, as Mitchell, admits to his role in the scandal, but introduces evidence (provided by Reed) proving that Alexander was the mastermind and that Nance was innocent. Kovic then fakes a stroke and is switched back with the still-comatose Mitchell. Mitchell is then declared incapacitated under the 25th Amendment, and eventually dies. The groundswell of affection generated by Kovic is transferred to the real Mitchell, as the public and the media mourn his death, still unaware of the presumably illegal ruse that had been conducted when Kovic was acting as President. Although Bob Alexander knows this secret, there is no suggestion in the film that he ever goes public with this fraud (which he perpetrated) as he is later arrested and indicted. Nance becomes President and promises to carry out Mitchell's (actually Kovic's) promise of a full-employment program.

Five months later, Kovic is running his own campaign for city council. Ellen Mitchell, now a widow, comes into the office, asking for a job and kisses him. When the door of his office closes, Duane steps in front, indicating that he is now working for Kovic.

Cameos:

Political Figures:
Senator Christopher Dodd (D - Connecticut)
Senator Tom Harkin (D - Iowa)
Frank Mankiewicz (former Presidential campaign director for Robert F. Kennedy and George McGovern)
Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D - Ohio, now retired)
Abner J. Mikva (retired federal judge and Congressman, D - Illinois, played the Chief Justice who swears Nance in as President)
Speaker of the House Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill (D - Massachusetts, retired by the time the film was released, has since died)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (at the time, had not yet run for any office, now Governor, R - California)
Senator Paul Simon (D - Illinois, has since died)
Senator Alan Simpson (R - Wyoming, now retired)

Media Personalities:
Frederic W. Barnes
Ron Brownstein
Eleanor Clift
Bernard Kalb
Larry King
Michael Kinsley
Morton Kondracke
Jay Leno
Chris Matthews
John McLaughlin
Robert D. Novak
Richard Reeves
Ben Stein
Oliver Stone
Kathleen Sullivan
Jeff Tackett
Helen Thomas
Nina Totenberg
Sander Vanocur
John Yang

In addition, several fictional segments from shows frequented by political junkies were created specifically for it, including The McLaughlin Group (with McLaughlin, Barnes, Clift, Matthews and Kondracke), The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno, and Larry King Live where Oliver Stone is interviewed by King. Stone, in a self-parody, describes a conspiracy theory that turns out to accurately reflect the developments unfolding in the movie (see plot description above).