Last night Liz and I saw Oliver Stone’s latest film, W. This is probably the most neutral of Stone’s American president flicks. This also came out not only while George W. Bush is still alive, but he’s also still in office. While watching, we noticed several couples get up, put their coats on, and walk out during the film. I guess they were offended? One woman was even talking to me, in the lobby, before the movie started. She asked what movie I was seeing and after I said, “W,” she replied with, “I don’t like him!” and that was the end of that conversation.
I think the greatest attribute of this movie is people with different opinions concerning the current president’s performace can watch this movie and come out thinking it backs up their viewpoints. I was trying to explain this yesterday and wasn’t doing a very good job of it. I’d be interested to see if anybody agrees with me.
The second greatest attribute would have to be the acting. I don’t think this film has what they call an “ensemble cast,” but there were definitely a lot of noticeable faces. We have Josh Brolin playing George W. Bush, Elizabeth Banks playing Laura Bush, James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn playing George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, Bruce McGill playing George Tenet, Thandie Newton playing Condoleeza Rice, Jeffrey Wright as Gen. Colin Powell, and Stacy Keach as Rev. Earle Hudd to name a few. The only performance I was disappointed with was Condoleeza Rice. I was able to pick out most cabinet members and key players in this film before their names were ever mentioned. They played their parts that well. Newton as Rice just came off as an SNL performance to me. It seemed as if she was playing the caricature, and not owning the role. It’s kind of like when a musician plays someone else’s music. They can play it like a cover band or put their own spin on it.
I was in the 4th grade when Desert Storm happened and watching this movie brought back a lot of memories from then. I also remembered hearing things like President Bush’s son owned the Texas Rangers. I’m sure other scenes would be much more meaningful for those who weren’t quite so young at the time. It’s weird watching movies about “historical” things that have happened during my lifetime.
I wouldn’t say President Bush was painted in a bad light, but I also wouldn’t say he was painted in the best of lights either. I don’t know for sure, but I assumed any of the public speeches he gave were probably word-for-word. I’m sure some think the president is a bit of an idiot and I can’t say I wholly agree with them. He is college educated. I think he probably surrounded himself with not the best of people. One thing I was left wondering about was Barbara and George H. W. I never would have guessed George W. called his father “poppy.” There was also one scene where H.W. explained the difference in two pronunciations of Saddam. I thought that really showed an understanding of language and culture. I also loved the scenes were George W was eating. I’m pretty sure it showed him eating bologna sandwiches on more than one occasion. He also seemed to be a fan of Cheetos, the crunchy variety, and he also had an affinity for Dr. Pepper.
To those of you who think this movie is making fun of Bush, I disagree because I wasn’t sitting in the theater laughing throughout the film. To those of you who think this movie glorifies Bush, I also disagree because he was in no way made out to be the best President ever. I say you should probably give this movie a chance and see what you think of it for yourself.
Rating: 
0 Responses to “W”