When Movies Meet Politics: Stories of Power and Persuasion

Real-life politics can seem stranger than fiction and even when we see movies based on true stories surrounding a politician, we often find it unbelievable. For nearly 100 years, there have been movies made about the political machine, senators, presidents, congress, and elections.

From dramas and comedies to true stories and conspiracies, here are ten political movies to watch and scripts to read as we creep closer to election day.

Scripts from this Article

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

JFK

Dave

The American President

Nixon

Election

Milk

Lee Daniels’ The Butler

The Front Runner

Vice

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Screenplay by: Sidney Buchman, Lewis R. Foster, and Myles Connolly

This Frank Capra classic starring Jimmy Stewart follows a hopeful yet naïve young man who is appointed as a senator of his state when a vacancy opens up. While he is delighted to take on the role, there are sinister forces surrounding him eager to test his moral compass. The new senator struggles in his powerful new position as he meets his hero—who he learns is corrupt—and navigates his way through the twisted political process.

It’s Stewert’s wholesomeness that drives the movie as the person who audiences want to run their country steps up against the corrupt and malicious forces that seem to covet power more than wanting to do what’s right.

JFK (1991)

Screenplay by: Jim Marrs, Jim Garrison, and Oliver Stone

There likely hasn’t been a film more impactful on conspiracy theories than JFK. Based on books by Jim Garrison and Jim Marrs, JFK follows a determined District Attorney Garrison (Kevin Costner) who believes there is a major cover-up regarding the John F. Kennedy assassination and how it cannot just be the work of a lone wolf. Through interviews and trials, Garrison wants the truth told to the public and will stop at nothing to ensure his theory comes to light that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby didn’t act alone.

This three-hour epic was nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay and fell in line with the conspiracy/government thrillers prevalent in the late-1980s and 1990s.

Dave (1993)

Screenplay by: Gary Ross

This light-hearted comedy follows Dave (Kevin Kline), a man who looks just like the President of the United States and is used by the White House for small appearances and locally as a gimmick (think car dealership). One day, the actual president suffers a stroke so the Secret Service thinks it would be a good idea for Dave to step into the role of the most powerful man in the world while the real president recovers. This seems like an okay plan until Dave decides he can take over the duties of the presidency to the chagrin of those who thought they could use him as a puppet.

As they grow hostile toward Dave and the president’s wife (Sigourney Weaver) becomes convinced her husband isn’t who he says he is, Dave must rise to the occasion of being an ordinary man placed in an extraordinary position.

This movie requires a lot of suspension of disbelief but overall it’s a cute, optimistic story about how government can work for the people when those with good intentions are at the helm.

Read More: Circumstantial Comedy: Sitcoms That Keep You Laughing

The American President (1995)

Screenplay by: Aaron Sorkin

Occasionally, Hollywood will produce some saccharine and sweet movies that put the presidency and politics in a nice light. Dave was one, The American President was another. This story from Aaron Sorkin, who went on to create The West Wing, stars Michael Douglas as a recently windowed president who, during election season, falls in love with a lobbyist played by Annette Bening. As much as the president wants to win reelection, he puts his chances at risk by dating someone soon after the death of his wife and opening the doors for political opponents to question his character.

Nixon (1995)

Screenplay by: Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, and Oliver Stone

After tackling the conspiracies surrounding the JFK assassination, Oliver Stone decided to take on the dark and politically cunning mind of Richard Nixon. It’s a complete biopic of Nixon’s life starting from his days growing up in California through his downfall after the Watergate scandal.

The film’s cast is filled with outstanding actors from Anthony Hopkins (playing Nixon), Joan Allen, and Paul Sorvino, and offers a unique way to present a biography that doesn’t follow a narrative timeline.

Election (1999)

Screenplay by: Tom Perrotta, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor

While this film isn’t a story based on national politics, its satire of a high school election echoes how ridiculous campaigns can be. The movie follows a high school teacher who wants to knock his perky, yet serious, student running for class president off her pedestal. So, he takes the popular, not-so-smart kid and runs him against the more qualified Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon). However, Mr. McAllister’s (Matthew Broderick) attempts to spoil her election are met with a series of unfortunate events as he struggles to maintain his dignity and pushes his obsessions to darker places.

Read More: Comedy Gone Dark: Dark Comedy Movies That Make Us Grin into the Abyss

Milk (2008)

Screenplay by: Dustin Lance Black

This film is the true story of a man who became the first openly gay elected official when he won a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Starring Sean Penn in his Academy Award-winning role as Harvey Milk, the film follows the changing times in San Francisco when Milk opens up a shop in the city’s growing gay community in the 1970s.

The film shows the struggles Milk and those around him, including his boyfriend, faced to push for equal rights. Once Milk wins his seat, he must work with several people who actively fight against his politics.

Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)

Screenplay by: Danny Strong

For a history of presidents and their behavior and actions throughout a series of events such as the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights era, and all throughout the 1980s, The Butler provides a first-hand account of a butler in the White House who served for eight presidents starting with Truman and ending with Reagan. This film can show filmmakers how to write a script that’s broad in scope but focuses on a single character who witnesses history.

The Front Runner (2018)

Screenplay by: Matt Bai, Jay Carson, and Jason Reitman

At one point in the recent past, if a politician were caught in a scandal, it would impact their ability to compete in an election and the shame would cause them to resign. That was the focus of The Front Runner, about US Senator Gary Hart who was considered the lead contender in the 1988 presidential primary until journalists at the Miami Herald took photos of him with a woman igniting rumors of a love affair. This front-runner must try to fix his reputation or go down in history as just another forgettable politician who ran for higher office.

Vice (2018)

Screenplay by: Adam McKay

There are not as many modern-day politicians who are as polarizing or secretive as Vice President Dick Cheney. Adam McKay, who had previously created Will Ferrell comedies, put together a comprehensive biopic centered around the controversial Cheney. As it navigates his vice presidency with his growing up in politics, the film weaves a tale of a man who gained power, tried to hold it, and believed the nation needed to be secure by any means necessary—just how he won the political game.

Vice has a unique storytelling style and is worth a read for screenwriters eager to create the next biopic.

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There are countless movies centered around politics—some are based on real politicians or events while others use the positions of power to tell a dramatic, comedic, or thrilling story. If you’re looking to write a movie with politics at its core, spend your time this election reading these scripts and not so much the social media sites.