When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, the Democratic party unexpectedly picks a Washington, D.C. alderman, Mays Gilliam (Rock) as his replacement .
Not the sharpest political humor I've ever heard, but it gets my vote for the stupidest fun I've had in a long time.
– Michael O'Sullivan,
Washington Post,
28 Mar 2003
rotten:
As a TV sitcom pilot, Head of State might have potential, but, on a multiplex screen, the execution (if not the premise) is thin.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
29 Mar 2003
rotten:
... I liked this premise in movies like Dave, or the Eddie Murphy movie The Distinguished Gentleman, where the unknown or the underdog becomes the candidate or even the president, but this is so poorly done.