Movie Review: W.

By / October 21, 2008 /

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican or Democrat at this point. Without a doubt, these last eight years have been a debacle in every sense of the word. Not since Britney Spears, has one person made so many bad decisions that has caused so much world embarrassment and universal harm. It is fitting that Oliver Stone created something that is the first of its kind; a major motion picture of the president of the United States…while he is still in office.

When word first leaked that Stone was taking on the most controversial political figures in the country, the buzz was pretty harsh. Everyone had predispositions about the film before it even came out in the theaters. It was almost as if the idea of making the film was as bad as George Bush himself. It just didn’t make any sense. Would it end up like a bad Lifetime TV movie? Would it just end up one sided and categorically dismissed? Well, lucky for us, it’s not that bad. Not bad at all.

Josh Brolin takes on the role of a lifetime. He chews up the film as George W. Bush – one of the most unlikely men to ever hold the biggest position of power in the country. From the early wild college days at his frat house…which takes some suspension of disbelief that Mr. Brolin can really play someone that young..all the way to his endless string of screw ups, both personally and professionally.

The rest of the cast is hit and miss. His wife, played by Elizabeth Banks, seems a little out of place and a little too attractive to be believable. Thandie Newton is almost unrecognizable here as Condoleezza Rice. She is very good in her role, both in vocal mimicry and posture, but does get extremely grating at times. Richard Dreyfuss gives us a shady version of Dick Cheney. James Cromwell rounds out the cast as George Bush Sr. and almost steals the show as the domineering and disapproving father.

The real question remains since this film went into production and has been released this past weekend; how true is this story? It would be hard for anyone to deny that Oliver Stone is one opinionated filmmaker. The most surprising thing about W. is that this might be his most restrained piece of work. True, he creates scenes that may or may not be factual. But at the heart of this film is one man trying to prove to his father that he is worth something. It is definitely a believable motivation and creates a lot of sense for his past actions and present decision making abilities.

Sure, you can all hit up Max Payne and watch Mark Wahlberg for ninety minutes telling your mother hi…but give W. a chance. You’ll be glad you did and it will give you something to think about as you head into the voting booth in a couple of weeks.