Goofs for
Dave (1993) More at IMDbPro »

• Continuity: When President Mitchell leaves the helicopter, the rotors are standing still, but in a subsequent shot they are still rotating.
  
  
• Continuity: The number of chairs between President Mitchell and Alan Reed during the first staff meeting.
  
  
• Continuity: After Bob Alexander has his press conference implicating the President in the First Liberty scandal, the President, the First Lady, and Alan go to meet with federal regulators/lobbyists. When the First Lady steps out of the limousine, she's wearing a red dress. When everybody is inside at the meeting, she's wearing a gray dress.
  
  

• Factual errors: In the very first scene, as Marine One (the helicopter carrying President and Mrs. Mitchell) approaches the White House, a shot from the pilot's point of view shows the American flag flying above the executive mansion. The flag only flies when the president is actually in the White House.
  
  
• Factual errors: In the opening scene, the American flag on the presidential helicopter is backwards.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Dave, Bob Alexander and Alan Reed are in the press briefing room for the first time, the presidential flag and the American flag in the wrong positions. Federal law requires that the American flag to be placed to the right of any other flags (unless it is center of a group). In the shot, it is placed to the left (from the speaker's point of view) of the presidential flag.
  
  
• Errors in geography: The chamber where Dave delivers his message to Congress is obviously not the actual House chamber, which has benches rather than chairs. (It's actually the Virginia House of Delegates.)
  
  
• Factual errors: Togo doesn't have a king.
  
  
• Continuity: Ellen is holding a grocery bag on her lap shortly after she and Dave sneak out of the White House - before they've gone to the store to buy the supplies for the sandwiches.
  
  
• Continuity: When Dave is addressing Congress, the papers on the lectern disappear and reappear.
  
  
• Continuity: When Dave is asked to call his office and explain why he will be away, he is wearing President Mitchell's glasses. In the very next shot, as he begins to make the call, the glasses are on the desk in front of him.
  
  
• Continuity: In a latter scene, Dave is meeting the VP in the Oval Office. As they enter the office, the tall clock in the background shows 10:30. Several minutes later the clock shows again in the background. The time is still 10:30.
  
  
• Continuity: When Dave turns off the water in the shower, the faucet handles are in an upright position. They change position several times in subsequent shots.
  
  
• Continuity: President Mitchell suffers a serious stroke in the fall (judging by the color of the trees). Five months later, the season appears to be the same.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Dave holds the joint session of Congress, the members of Congress are sitting at desks; thus, it appears as if the session is occurring in the Senate chamber. A joint session would be held in the much larger House of Representative chamber, which doesn't have desks for every member like the Senate chamber does.
  
  
• Factual errors: The DC City Council is not separated by "districts" but rather by "wards".
  
  
• Continuity: The Ford Tempo that Dave and the First Lady are riding in has automatic shoulder belts when they're stopped by the police officer, but a manual seat belt on the driver's side when they return to the White House.
  
  
• Continuity: When Dave takes the fertility beads from Vice President Nance, he puts them on his right arm and, as he moves around the desk, they move from right arm to left arm and back to his right arm.
  
  
• Continuity: In the final scene in the movie when Dave and the widowed First Lady step into the room, close the door and draw the blinds, the blinds are moving. Just before Duane steps in front of the door, the blinds are still.
  
  
• Continuity: When the First Lady visits Dave in his private office, he is sitting on a couch. When she joins him and takes a seat, it's a love seat.
  
  
• Continuity: In the White House kitchen, Dave asks Duane whether he carries a gun. It was the sight of Duane's gun that gave Dave a start when they first met in Dave's living room.
  
  
• Continuity: After the speech before the joint session of Congress when Dave, as President Mitchell, admits wrongdoing in the S&L scandal and then suffers his second and final "stroke," as the ambulance is arriving at the hospital, the news report says that "the stroke hit at 8:42 pm..." The speech was clearly delivered in the daytime. Not only was it light out as everyone was filing into House chamber, but the clock on the wall of the House chamber read 1:25 pm. The "stroke" hit shortly after the beginning of the speech.
  
  
• Factual errors: When they go to the White House for the first time in the limo. There are cars on the street in front of the White House. That street has been closed to traffic since the mid 1970's.
  
  
• Errors in geography: When Dave is taken from the Capitol to the hospital he is taken to the Bethesda Naval Center in Bethesda, MD (based on the visual of that facility). This clearly is not the closest trauma hospital to the Capitol and would not be where the President would have been taken.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Dave calls the Joint Session of Congress, none of the US Supreme Court Justices are present. They would be seated at the front of the chamber dressed in their robes. For none of the 9 judges to attend such an important Presidential address would be unthinkable.
  
  

• Factual errors: SPOILER: Vice President Nance was inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States near the end of the film. Since this film was made in 1993, they would pick up when George H.W Bush left office. This would make Bill Mitchell the 42nd President and then Vice President Nance the 43rd President. Unless this film takes place sometime in the future (which is never mentioned, so it must take place in 1993) there couldn't be two presidents in just a few months.
  
  

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