Head of State (film) - Plot

Plot

Mays Gilliam (Chris Rock) is an alderman of the 9th Ward in Washington D.C.. After being fired from his post and dumped by his girlfriend, Kim (Robin Givens), Mays is surprisingly chosen as the party candidate for the presidency (after his party's original presidential and vice-presidential nominees die when their two separate planes crash into each other) to run against sitting vice-president Brian Lewis. Assuming the election was already lost, the party decided to pick a likable but unwinnable minority candidate to improve their chances in the next presidential election. At first, Mays 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, Mays begins to rise in the polls after his brother (Bernie Mac) 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 Mays supports cancer, Mays begins to fight back using what he claimed was "kissing" his opponent (taken from Bugs Bunny-Elmer Fudd cartoons). A part of this strategy includes dubbing a videotape of Osama bin Laden saying he hates America but loves Brian Lewis. This strategy gains Mays even more points in the polls. As voting day draws closer, Mays eventually learns the reason why he was chosen as the party candidate, and fires some disloyal campaign operatives (although they reconciled with him afterwards), as well as choosing 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 the American life. Finally, Mays 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.