With election season swiftly approaching, it’s the perfect time to celebrate National Voter Registration Day.
National Voter Registration day originated in 2012 to create awareness of the opportunities to register to vote, according to The Washington Post.
To celebrate the day, here are 10 movies that will get you in the swing to start voting.
“All the King’s Men” — 2006 (PG-13)
Smart, populist and manipulative hick Willie Stark (Sean Penn) is elected governor with support from the lower social classes. His team is composed of Sugar Boy (Jackie Earle Haley), his bodyguard and friend, Jack Burden (Jude Law), a journalist, Tiny Duff (James Gandolfini), a lobbyist, and Sadie Burke (Patricia Clarkson), Stark’s mistress. Together, they must face the opposition of the upper classes. When the influential Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) supports a request for the impeachment of Stark, Stark assigns Jack to dig up information on Irwin, ultimately leading to a tragedy.
“All the President’s Men” — 1976 (PG-13)
Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters, which led to the Watergate scandal. After finding out that top lawyers are assigned to the defense case, however, it is obvious that this is something much bigger. The film follows both Woodward and his colleague, Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) — dubbed “Woodstein” — as they investigate several of those connected to the break-in, before discovering and reporting on President Richard Nixon’s ultimate hand in the events, leading to his resignation.
“The American President” — 1995 (PG-13)
As Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) approaches the end of his first term as president of the United States, his re-election seems assured, especially with a daughter who is adored by the public. Shepherd meets Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), a paid political activist working for an environmental lobby group. He falls for her. They eventually go on a date. This date also happens to be the State dinner for the visiting President of France. When Shepherd’s political opponent, Sen. Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), catches wind of his relationship, it gives him an opportunity to launch an attack on his character.
“The Candidate” — 1972 (PG)
California lawyer Bill McKay (Robert Redford) is extremely involved in civil rights and legal aid and agrees to run for the U.S. Senate. He tells himself that he’s not running to win but to make voters aware of important issues. McKay is not fan of the local political leadership, and when an opportunity to win the race arises, his integrity begins to falter.
“The Distinguished Gentleman” — 1992 (R)
When having the same name as a recently deceased U.S. Congressman gets Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Eddie Murphy) elected into Congress, he is able to infiltrate the corrupt world of politics. He embraces his new perks of a politician. Johnson suddenly develops a conscience though while investigating the connection between electric companies and cancer in young children. Johnson struggles to make a change while fellow Congressman Dick Dodge (Lane Smith) works against him.
“Frost/Nixon” — 2008 (R)
Following Richard Nixon’s (Frank Langella) resignation as president of the United States, he stays quiet for three years … until talk show host David Frost (Michael Sheen) offers him $600,000 for an all-inclusive interview about the Watergate scandal. Nixon goes in with the preconception that he can overpower Frost and resurrect his political career by securing his place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Frost, however, has every intention of making these interviews hard-hitting and pointed. As the four, 90-minute, TV-aired interviews progress, both Frost and Nixon try to manipulate the content to their advantage.
“The Iron Lady” — 2011 (PG-13)
A now elderly Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep) reflects on her life and successes as she cleans out her house of her late husband’s belongings. Her reflection occurs mostly through a conversation with her husband’s ghost, interspersed with snippets of her life and political career. In the film, her husband, Dennis, is seen as being her rock when she first enters parliament and eventually runs for leadership in the Conservative party, leading to her eventually becoming the Prime Minster for the United Kingdom.
“Man of the Year” — 2006 (PG-13)
Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a comedic host of a political talk show. When election season comes around, Dobbs decides to run for president with the hopes of gaining more material for his show and getting the chance to mock the politicians up close. When Dobbs ends up being elected as president, many are in shock, but what they don’t know is that it has happened as a result of a glitch in the new electronic voting system that was used. The private company that designed the system, Delacroy, wants to keep the glitch a secret, as it will otherwise put them out of business. Lead programmer Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), though, decides to tell the truth, while Delacroy executives attempt to stop her.
“My Fellow Americans” — 1996 (PG-13)
Two former presidents from opposite sides of the political aisle, Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and Douglas (James Garner), become impossible allies when they are both targets of the current administration of President Haney (Dan Aykroyd), who happens to be Kramer’s former vice president. When the two former presidents realize they have an enemy within the government, they set out to find evidence to clear their names. Their search will take them on an adventure across the Southern Appalachians, in which they will meet a homeless couple, defeat kidnappers in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant and unintentionally march in a gay pride parade.
“Napoleon Dynamite” — 2004 (PG)
Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) is just an unpopular high schooler who wants to fit in. Napoleon lives with his brother, Kip, who is in an endless search for love, and his uncle, Rico, who decidedly wants to ruin Napoleon’s life. When a new kid, Pedro (Efren Ramirez), moves into town from Mexico, him and Napoleon become fast friends. Pedro eventually decides to run for class president, giving Napoleon the chance to help Pedro while showing what he’s got, proving that has nothing to prove.