Taglines: There’s something funny going on in Washington. Goldie’s about to become a diplomat.
Protocol movie storyline. The US needs to convince the visiting emir Khala’ad of Othar to allow an American military base in his strategic realm. Clueless nightclub waitress Sunny Ann Davis accidentally spots and stops a terrorist shooting at the president and his royal guest. Her naive comments charm the press, so the State Department recruits her for its Protocol. She falls in love with charming Middle East desk chief Michael Ransome, who resigns rather than help trick her into a ‘contact mission’ to Othar, where the emir’s plan with her unexpectedly stirs a revolution.
Protocol is a 1984 American comedy film starring Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Richard Romanus, Andre Gregory, Gail Strickland, Cliff De Young and Keith Szarabajka, written by Buck Henry, and directed by Herbert Ross. Hawn plays a Washington, D.C., cocktail waitress who prevents the assassination of a visiting Arab emir and winds up a national heroine.
About the Story
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.
Protocol (1984)
Directed by: Herbert Ross
Starring: Goldie Hawn, Chris Sarandon, Richard Romanus, Andre Gregory, Gail Strickland, Cliff De Young, Keith Szarabajka
Screenplay by: Buck Henry
Production Design by: Bill Malley
Cinematography by: William A. Fraker
Film Editing by: Paul Hirsch
Music by: Basil Poledouris
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: December 21, 1984
Visits: 197
