It is time for me to own up to something I wrote earlier that no longer holds water. I said:
QUOTE
Sigh...this is going to be a mere liberal screed.
And by the way, Josh Brolin is not exactly the first name that jumps to mind when I think of "actors who look like George Bush"...I don't claim to know whether he'll turn in a good performance or not, but in biopics I feel that at least a superficial resemblance is necessary (i.e., Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash).
And by the way, Josh Brolin is not exactly the first name that jumps to mind when I think of "actors who look like George Bush"...I don't claim to know whether he'll turn in a good performance or not, but in biopics I feel that at least a superficial resemblance is necessary (i.e., Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash).
And I was wrong on both counts.
The film is not a mere liberal screed. It's liberally prone, certainly, highlighting Bush's failures and none of his more triumphant moments. It ignores Bush's popular speech after 9/11, where he stood on a pile of rubble and promised sweet hot American retribution against those who perpetrated the attacks. It ignores his hero's welcome in Africa, where people appreciate him for giving more aid than any other president. It ignores his handling of the crisis in early 2001 when China took U.S. pilots captive.
There are scenes of carnage in Iraq, meetings dominated by the mustache-twirling villains Cheney and Rumsfeld, and a bedroom scene with W. and Laura in which he confides to her that he "thought he was doing what was right" or something to that effect.
Now, whenever a married couple in a Hollywood movie shares intimate conversation while in bed wearing pajamas, yet they are NOT engaging in sexual activity, we are supposed to sympathize with them. The movie is at pains to show that Bush isn't a bad guy: he's just a bad guy for the job. He's ignorant, unintelligent, incapable of doing anything for himself; yet he means well.
Ultimately, I'd say it's a condescendingly sympathetic portrayal. While I acknowledge Bush's failures as a public speaker, I think that the movie's general assertion that he's an incompetent moron is heavyhanded and unrealistic. I do appreciate the fact that Stone at least tries to be fair, and is willing to see Bush as a human being. The same cannot be said for most media portrayals of the man.
One other thing I was wrong about: Josh Brolin. He does look, sound, and move around just like the real Bush (the voice is uncanny at times). I stand corrected.
