Head of State (film)

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Head of State

Directed by	Chris Rock
Produced by	Michael Rotenberg
Written by	Chris Rock Ali LeRoi
Starring	Chris Rock Bernie Mac Tracy Morgan
Distributed by	DreamWorks
Release date(s)	28 March 2003 (USA)
Running time	95 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Head of State is a 2003 American movie starring Chris Rock.

1 Plot
2 Running Gags
3 Inspiration
4 Cast
5 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is an alderman of the 9th Ward in the Washington D.C. area. After being fired from his post, 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) 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 race, 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 Bug Bunny-Elmer Fudd cartoons). In this strategy, Mays hires various individuals such as a KKK member. An ad appears with the Klanmember stating, "Hi, I'm a Klan member. I hate Niggers, Jews, and fags; but I love Vice President 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 debates 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.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Running Gags

Mays yells "SECURITY!" and a security guard comes out of nowhere, grabs someone by the head (mainly his ex-fiancee, Kim) and drags them away into a car and drives off. The sound of Kim screaming when security takes her is actually the yell of Rock's Saturday Night Live co-star Adam Sandler (revealed on director commentary).

Vice President Brian Lewis (and other people) says that he has been Vice President for eight years, that he's a war hero, and that he's Sharon Stone's cousin.

After a very important radio announcement, the announcer usually cuts back to the regularly schedule program by saying ".....and now back to the Jay-Z song already in progress." As the movie progresses, everytime Mays enters his car, the same Jay-Z song is playing ('03 Bonnie & Clyde). Even after Mays has his car reposessed, the new owner is playing the same Jay-Z song when he passes by Mays in the streets. It's revealed on the commentary that Rock wanted different Jay-Z songs throughout the film but that they could only afford one.

[edit] 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, culminating in the 1992 election of Bill Clinton.