Head of State is a 2003 comedy movie directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and also co-starring Bernie Mac.

Plot

Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is an alderman of the 9th Ward in Washington D.C.. After being fired from his post and dumped by his girlfriend, Kim (Robin Givens), Mays is surprisingly chosen as the party candidate for the presidency (after his party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees die in a plane crash; their two separate planes crashed into each other) to run against sitting vice-president Brian Lewis. Assuming the election was already lost, the party decided to pick a likeable but losing minority candidate to improve their chances of another politician taking the office in the next presidential election. At first, Mays feels he will not be able to succeed as President because he would be representing the entire African-American populace, and does not want to do anything to mess it up. However, Mays begins to rise in the polls after his brother (Bernie Mac) persuades him to speak out for what he believes. He begins to talk about issues such as welfare, money, society, etc. After Lewis runs a series of attack ads including one saying Mays supports Cancer, Mays begins to fight back using what he claimed was "kissing" his opponent (Taking from Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd cartoons). In this strategy, Mays dubs a videotape of Osama bin Laden saying he hates America but loves Brian Lewis. This strategy allows Mays to gain more points in the election. As the voting day draws closer, Mays eventually finds out the reason why he was chosen as the party candidate, and fires some disloyal campaign operatives. He has a debate with his opponent in which he manages to win the crowd over by speaking truth of the American life. Mays ends up winning the election and the presidency.

Inspiration

Rock said in HBO First Look that he got the idea from the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale, who chose Geraldine Ferraro — a woman — as his running mate. The Democrats knew they had little chance of defeating Ronald Reagan, but Ferraro's nomination allowed them to gain female voters, contributing to the eventual 1992 election of Bill Clinton.

Cast

• Chris Rock – Mays Gilliam
• Bernie Mac – Mitch Gilliam
• Dylan Baker – Martin Geller
• Nick Searcy – Vice President Brian Lewis
• Lynn Whitfield – Debra Lassiter
• Robin Givens – Kim
• Tamala Jones – Lisa Clark
• James Rebhorn – Senator Bill Arnot
• Keith David – Bernard Cooper
• Stephanie March – Nikki
• Nate Dogg – Himself
• DJ Quik – Musical Score
• Leonard A. Anderson – Stunt Man
• Tracy Morgan – Meat Guy

Trivia

• The majority of the outside scenes were filmed in Sykesville, Maryland and other locales throughout Carroll County, Maryland.
• Part of the presidential debate is a verbatim repeat of Monty Python's Argument Sketch.

Cameos

• In the scene where Mays makes an appearance for TNA Wrestling (a legitimate promotion), B.G. James is holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, a title he has never held.
• Keith David had a small role as Bernard Cooper who is shown to have purchased Mays' car in a repo auction.
• Martin Geller (Dylan Baker) sings part of the song "Fire Water Burn".

References

External links