A bizarre side of the Clinton presidency.

April 30, 2000 11:14 AM

A bizarre side of the Clinton presidency.
It seems that during the White House Correspondents dinner the Clinton camp displayed a short comedy movie called 'The Final Days'. I saw a few snippets on Britan's Channel 5 and was SHOCKED. I just didn't belive it... As I watched it I felt like I was watching a skit on Leno. Mind-boggling.
posted by jedrek (12 comments total)

I happened to catch most of the whole thing on CSPAN...it totally threw me, because Leno was doing lots of skits, but there was the "CSPAN-LIVE" overlay in the corner.

They made fun of Hillary alot too. It was very wierd for CSPAN....it was almost as funny as when they show the House of Lords broadcasts.
posted by nomisxid at 11:44 AM on April 30, 2000

It was better than a Tonight Show skit. Where this film is cute, the Tonight Show would have gone for the sick or stupid jokes (not to mention the so-very-tired Lewinsky, not to mention OJ, references) that makes the Tonight Show so difficult to watch.

It is, of course, otherwise very Tonight Show-esque, from the silly cameos to the music and editing...

posted by dan_of_brainlog at 1:43 PM on April 30, 2000

Like Dan said, the film was cute. I liked the shots of Bill mowing the lawn and washing the limo.
posted by bjennings at 1:54 PM on April 30, 2000

What's refreshing, I think, is that Clinton reflects a generation of world leaders who aren't crusty "elder statesman": he'll be 52, I think, (a few years younger than my dad) when he leaves office. The same applies to Tony Blair, who's set to become a father again in a few weeks, and is pretty good at showing that he can spare time for his family while dictating to the country...

The thing that I remember most clearly from reading about the Lewinsky saga was that Clinton sends out for pizza when working late nights at the White House. Which is kind of endearing.
posted by holgate at 4:17 PM on April 30, 2000

Just checked: he'll be 54, two years younger than my dad. Not a bad time to retire.
posted by holgate at 4:19 PM on April 30, 2000

anyone remember stuart from adventures of pete and pete?

i kept hoping he'd invite the president to a kegger.
posted by sugarfish at 6:58 PM on April 30, 2000

I hated it. Still do. Since Stuart (aka PETE aka Mike Maronna in real life) is in it, it not QUITE as bad. Nice touch to include the Stuart character, fun.

Pete and Pete r00lZ (I miss the show).
posted by jamescblack at 8:30 PM on April 30, 2000

Isn't this self-mocking traditional for the event? Clinton may do it better than most presidents have, but this isn't a complete novelty.

From a Freedom Forum article: The annual White House Correspondents Dinner was a fairly routine and stodgy affair, albeit one with a good bit of alcohol that produced some memorable moments, until the late 1980s. Things changed in 1987 when an enterprising journalist invited legendary document-shredder and Oliver North cohort Fawn Hall to the dinner in the midst of the arms-for-hostages, Iran-Contra scandal that was rocking the Reagan administration. Her presence created such a stir that other news organizations decided to take the same approach the following year.


posted by anitar at 10:57 PM on April 30, 2000

This was certainly a grand farewell gesture. And you're right, the dinner has long been headlined by a comic and the entertainment has been satiric sketches. Last year they had Don Imus, who shocked everyone by making savage jokes about the Clintons seated just yards away from him. Presidents traditionally speak and make self-mocking references at the lectern, and try to get back at the correspondents to a degree.

I don't recall a pre-produced short film, though, certainly not with celebrity cameos. Probably not only a factor of Clinton's age, but of OUR age, i.e. media saturation and irony.

C-SPAN sells videos of previous dinners, if you're obsessed.
posted by dhartung at 9:56 AM on May 1, 2000

I saw a little of that on TV this morning. Bravo Bill! I like the fact that he can laugh at himself. A leader who can laugh is a great leader in my book.

Is anyone streaming this on the web?
posted by Brilliantcrank at 12:58 PM on May 1, 2000

Uh, yes, the original link for this MetaFilter article is to CNN coverage which includes streaming of the whole film in various formats. (I won't bother to hack through their JavaScript to get direct links; they're in a sidebox.)

posted by dan_of_brainlog at 7:40 PM on May 1, 2000