My Fellow Americans is a 1996 American comedy film starring Jack Lemmon and James Garner as feuding ex-presidents. Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Bacall, Esther Rolle, John Heard, Wilford Brimley, Bradley Whitford and Jeff Yagher are also in the cast. It is named for the traditional opening of Presidential addresses to the American people.
Lemmon's perennial collaborator, Walter Matthau, was slated to costar. Health problems kept him from appearing so Garner was chosen to star opposite Lemmon for their first project together. The film was unofficially called "Grumpy Old Presidents" by those on the set.
Republican Senator Russell Kramer of Ohio (Jack Lemmon) wins the Presidential election, narrowly defeating archrival Democratic Governor Matt Douglas of Indiana (James Garner). Four years later, Douglas wins a landslide victory over the now-incumbent Kramer. Another four years later, Kramer's former Vice President, William Haney (Dan Aykroyd), defeats Douglas. His Vice President, Ted Matthews (John Heard), is widely seen as an idiot, and becomes a continuing embarrassment for the administration. A further three years later, Kramer is spending his time writing books and speaking at various inconsequential functions, while Douglas is finishing his own book and going through a divorce.
Americans are citizens of the United States of America. The country is home to people of many different national origins. As a result, most Americans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizenship and allegiance. Although citizens make up the majority of Americans, non-citizen residents, dual citizens, and expatriates may also claim an American identity.
The majority of Americans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries, with the exception of the Native American population and people from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands who became American through expansion of the country in the 19th century, and American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands in the 20th century.
Despite its multi-ethnic composition, the culture of the United States held in common by most Americans can also be referred to as mainstream American culture, a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Northern and Western European colonists, settlers, and immigrants. It also includes influences of African-American culture. Westward expansion integrated the Creoles and Cajuns of Louisiana and the Hispanos of the Southwest and brought close contact with the culture of Mexico. Large-scale immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Southern and Eastern Europe introduced a variety of elements. Immigration from Asia, Africa, and Latin America has also had impact. A cultural melting pot, or pluralistic salad bowl, describes the way in which generations of Americans have celebrated and exchanged distinctive cultural characteristics.
American(s) may refer to: