Head of State is a 2003 American comedy film directed, written by, and starring Chris Rock and co-starring Bernie Mac. It marked the directorial debut of Rock, who had previously worked as a writer, producer, and actor. The film's title refers to one of the key functions of the President of the United States, as the Americanhead of state. This was the last film by cinematographer Donald E. Thorin, who died in 2016, having not worked on a film in thirteen years.
Plot
Mays Gilliam is the alderman for the 9th Ward in Washington, D.C.. After learning he is likely to lose his job and getting dumped by his girlfriend, Kim, Gilliam is surprisingly chosen as the Democratic Partycandidate for the 2004 presidential election after his party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees die in a plane crash and he is lauded as a hero for saving a woman from an explosion. Assuming the election was already lost to incumbent Republican vice-president Brian Lewis, the Democrats decided to pick a likable but unwinnable minority candidate to improve their chances in the 2008 presidential election. At first, Gilliam 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, Gilliam begins to rise in the polls after his brother 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 Gilliam supports cancer, Gilliam begins to fight back using what he claimed was "kissing" his opponent. A part of this strategy includes dubbing a videotape of Osama bin Laden saying he hates America but loves Brian Lewis. This strategy gains Gilliam even more points in the polls. As voting day draws closer, Gilliam eventually learns the reason why he was chosen as the party candidate, fires some disloyal campaign operatives, and chooses his brother as his running mate. He later has a debate with his opponent in which he manages to win the crowd over by speaking truth about American life. Finally, Gilliam ends up winning the election and the presidency. The film ends with a shot of Mount Rushmore with Mays Gilliam's head added, complete with bling.
Cast
Chris Rock – Mays Gilliam, alderman, reluctant Presidential candidate and later President of the United States.
Rock said in HBOFirst 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 selected Ferraro in hopes of gaining female support. In one scene, Gilliam quotes "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three. According to the DVD audio commentary, the scene where Gilliam sings "Deep in the Heart of Texas" is a reference to Pee-wee's Big Adventure, where Pee-Wee Herman does the same thing. Part of the presidential debate is a verbatim repeat of Monty Python's Argument Clinic.
Boston comedian and actor Jimmy Tingle has the role of a talk show host, in which he interviews Bernie Mac.
Reception
Head of State received generally mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film maintains a score of 31% approval rating from critics, with the critical consensus reading, "Head of State squanders its potentially ripe premise with watered-down satire and formulaic gags." On Metacritic, the film maintains a score of 44/100. Roger Ebert, writing for Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film 3/4 stars, writing that it's "an imperfect movie, but not a boring one and not lacking in intelligence."
