The Two Best Date Movies                        Film comment by Chad Polenz                         Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz The hardest thing about dating in the 90s is trying to find a movie that both you and your date will enjoy. It's hard to find something that isn't a so-called chick flick or something totally sappy for the sake of being sappy - which are the typical movies people go to see on dates. Speaking as a guy, I know it can be extremely annoying and almost unbelievable when the cool action/adventure, sci-fi, and raunchy comedy movies that we love don't appeal to the ladies as much, if at all. Thankfully, there are films that are genuinely entertaining, make for great date movies, and give you something to talk and think about afterwards. The single, greatest first date film would have to be Rob Reiner's The American President. It is a story of a widowed president who suddenly discovers how difficult it is to have a social life when you're the leader of the free world. Michael Douglas and Annette Bening star as President Andrew Sherman and environmental lobbyist Sidney Ellen Wade. But the politics are really just a backdrop for telling this rather unusual story, the President gets Sidney's phone number from the FBI, and when he calls her up she thinks it's a prank call (after all if someone claiming to be the president called you for a date what would you think?). Eventually, the sense of awkwardness passes, the ice is broken, and the two start to date. Douglas and Bening have excellent chemistry, but it's the little things that make the movie great. For example, there is a scene in which the president and his Chief-Of-Staff, Mark MacInerey (Martin Sheen) discuss the relationship in the same manner that kids do. Sherman says, Do you think she liked me? To which MacInerey replies, Well, I'll pass her a note in study hall. It works because it's not corny, but cute, witty, and original. The American President is a good, lighthearted romance story that is funny but also sympathetic. It's nice to know that no matter how important or famous someone becomes, they still have the same problems as everyone else. My second choice is Richard _link_later's Before Sunrise, which I would recommend for a 4th, 5th, or later date. It is a wonderfully romantic and very touching story of a guy and a girl who proceed to fall in love in the course of one night. Ethan Hawke stars as Jesse, an American journalist student vacationing in Europe who meets a very cute French girl named Celine (Julie Delpy) on a train to Vienna. The two hit it off right away and when Jesse reaches his stop, he delivers the greatest pick-up line in history to Celine and convinces her to deboard and walk around with him. There is no plot to this film at all, it is just the story of young romance, told in such a brilliant way that it is completely believable throughout. At no point does the story even begin to become sappy, contrived, or cliche. I think the real charm of the film is the fact that every person watching it can completely sympathize with either characters. We start to fall in love with the character of the opposite sex too, and by the end when the two must say goodbye we feel a sense of sadness because such a good thing has come to an end. _link_later, ( Slacker, Dazed And Confused, Suburbia ) along with co-writer Kim Krizan's screenplay is one of the most realistic and charming I have ever seen. Hawke and Delpy also give very sweet and charming performances, they should have been nominated for Academy Awards. visit Chad'z Movie Page @ http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz/index.html