Kisses for My President (1964)

Even when it was initially released, Kisses for My President was a tepid, rather unimaginative comedy, a one-joke affair that ran out of steam rather quickly. The passage of time has only made things worse for Kisses, as it is difficult for a modern viewer to watch the film without at least finding it horribly dated and, more likely for many viewers, tremendously insulting. Credited scenarists Claude Binyon and Robert G. Kane seem to have taken the question "What would happen if a woman were elected president?" and then turned to whoever it is that thinks up "women driver" and "mother-in-law" jokes to come up with the screenplay. Even in 1964, the riffs on men and women changing expected places were tired and dated; today, they're actively annoying. This might be less important if Kisses had a stronger, more engaging plotline that surprised with its twists or that featured supporting characters that were more imaginatively conceived than its two leads. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Director Curtis Bernhardt gives the proceedings a fairly professional gloss, but the project requires a great deal more than that to overcome its basic flaw. Certainly Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray give it their all, but there's only so much they can do with the material. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide