It's been bothering me for some time because I
vaguely remembered this place was the setting for a movie starring
Goldie Hawn. Sue and Cheryl thought it might be "Protocol" but weren't
sure, and no one else even remembered that a movie was filmed here.
Therefore I vowed to stop the next time we drove by the old ranch on
Bitney Springs Road and ask. The opportunity came sooner than expected,
and luckily Laurie Schwartz Sanders was there. She told me that this is
the Schwartz ranch that her grandparents built during the late 1800s.
Yes, some scenes in the 1984 movie Protocol were filmed inside the
house.
The movie goes like this..."Sunny Ann Davis is
a seemingly ditzy blonde who works as a cocktail waitress in Washington,
D.C. She rents a small room in the home of a gay couple, has a lousy
love life and drives a rust bucket of a car that she cannot afford to
repair.
The car breaks down, blocking the route of a diplomatic convoy that
is traveling to the White House. Unsympathetic to Sunny's predicament,
the Diplomatic Security Service treat the incident as a possible
security threat and move into full security mode, guns drawn. Sunny is
naive to the seriousness of her situation, concerned only that she will
now be late for work.
At the Safari Club where Sunny works, her night is getting worse. Her
date cancels and she is forced to wear an emu suit because all of the
other costumes are now taken by waitresses who arrived on time. She
hates the costume because it invites unwanted sexual propositions. Even
though she is "so broke," she refuses an offer from a patron requesting
special "favors" in return for cash, as well as a loan from a waitress
friend, Ella.
On her way home, Sunny is curious about the media attention
surrounding a gala dinner, so she stops to watch the dignitaries leaving
the event. A man of Middle Eastern descent rudely pushes past her. Sunny
feels something hard in his coat pocket. She asks if he has a gun. To
her horror, he does. A shot is fired, but Sunny prevents him taking aim
at his target by biting his arm. In the ensuing commotion, both Sunny
and the gunman are forced to the ground and another shot is fired. Sunny
cries out, realizing she has been shot.
Through news media reports, we learn that Sunny has been taken to the
hospital and is being lauded as a heroine. She has prevented the
assassination of a visiting Emir, who had been in Washington to further
relations between the US and his "small, but strategic Middle Eastern
country." Doctors remove a bullet from Sunny's left buttock. While
recovering, she finds herself thrust into public adoration, receiving
mail from celebrities and countless marriage proposals.
Michael Ransome, a Middle Eastern desk chief from the State
Department, pays a visit to help Sunny get through her first press
conference since the shooting. Sunny answers each question about her
life with humor and charm, revealing herself to be hugely likeable,
intelligent and patriotic. She also reveals that she has never voted,
preferring to consider herself as just an American, rather than any
political label.
Back at the White House, politicians Crowe and Hilley are watching
the conference. They joke that if Sunny is to be believed, she could run
for office because of her appeal to so many large groups of voters,
including working women, small town folk, senior citizens, gays, the
"law-and-order bunch," baseball fans, barflys and animal lovers. They
contact the President of the United States (who is napping during this
most important speech), and arrange for him to call Sunny at the
hospital.
The Emir whose life Sunny saved was being wooed by the US, which
wants to establish a military base in his country because of its ideal
geographic location in the Middle East. He decides that he will allow
the US to build its base in his country — on the proviso that they allow
him to claim Sunny as another wife. Without the President's knowledge,
the State Department decides to trade Sunny for the base without her
knowledge.
The Vice President of the United States offers her a job within the
Protocol Department of the Government. She has to look up what
"protocol" means in a dictionary, but when she realizes he is offering
her a well-paying job, she accepts.
Sunny approaches her new job with nervous excitement, She attends
formal dinners and meets dignitaries from foreign countries. At one
dinner, she is introduced to Nawaf Al Kabeer, who thanks Sunny on behalf
of the Emir, and presents a car to her, as a thank-you gift from the
Emir. She returns it, having researched that as a government employee,
she is unable to accept gifts. But this act infuriates both the Emir and
the State Department.
Sunny is unaware that in the Emir's country, the local population is
aware that Sunny is to be a new Queen, and anger is growing. Sunny is
told that the Emir wants to meet her personally, and that she is to
"show him a good time." She looks upon this invitation as a way to help
her old boss Lou (Kenneth Mars) by arranging a party at his failing
Safari Club, where she used to work. Lou has not closed the bar to his
regular patrons and Sunny has invited friends of her own. The party gets
out of control, the Police make arrests and all of this is filmed by the
media.
Ambassador St. John sees this as a perfect opportunity to finally make
the trade. She tells Sunny to go with the Emir to "represent her
country" and make amends. Sunny arrives in the Emir's country to find a
painted mural of herself in wedding attire. She realizes it's a set-up,
that she was traded so the US could build its base.
The Emir confirms this. Unable to produce sons, he needs a new wife.
Before an angry Sunny can respond, a violent coup d'état takes place in
the Emir's country of Otah, and the two are forced to flee.
Back in the US, the government denies knowledge of the trade and the
public is now questioning whether Sunny knew all along of the plan. She
must also face a Congressional inquiry to find out the truth. Ransome
quits his job in disgust at what was done to Sunny.
At the inquiry, Sunny cuts the proceedings short by accepting blame,
having taken an important job without fully understanding the political
affairs of her country. But she reminds everyone that leaders have a
responsibility toward the people. She warns the political powers in the
room that, from now on, she will watch all of them "like a hawk." Her
talk astonished the Senator and grateful committee who responded with
applause.
Two years later, Sunny has married Ransome and they have a baby. She is
also running for Congress in her hometown of Diamond Junction in Oregon,
and gets a call telling her that she has won."
Sunny's like all good people who find hope in the Declaration of
Independence, and Bill of Rights. Something we all need to appreciate.
