W. (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Good
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / January 10, 2009

The first thing you should know about Oliver Stone’s “W.” is that it’s not a feature-length “Saturday Night Live” skit (even though it appears to be designed solely to jeer the president) because “SNL” is actually funny on occasion.

In fact, I found it difficult to determine the tone, and therefore, the objective of Stone’s film: President Bush is simultaneously portrayed critically and sympathetically. This ambiguous dynamic of “W.” is somewhat remarkable, as well as frustrating.

And though Josh Brolin gives a fair performance as George W. Bush, overall, I didn’t like “W.” Its scope is too broad, and its “facts” too speculative. Writer Stanley Weiser had a lot of blanks to fill in — and even more ground to cover pertaining to time and events.

(I will give accolades to Sarah Finn, who is given the credit for casting “W.”; with Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, Elizabeth Banks as an uncanny Laura Bush, Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, and Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice, the actors are exceptionally well matched in appearance and talent for their respective roles.)

But back to Weiser’s screenplay, “W.” hits on Bush’s life beginning with his college fraternity days, skims over his political aspirations, and spans the highlights of the president’s eight-year administration. All this is done through flashbacks from the slowly progressing present, much like we saw in “For the Love of the Game” (1999).

Speaking of baseball, “W.” attempts to reveal — even expose — Bush’s deep love for America’s favorite pastime. I think this insight, along with other aspects of “W.,” evokes pity for the man, who, it turns out, is in fact just a man, not a monster.

Despite this slick, modern age of cinema, even some non-CGI-laden films seem unauthentic, such as “Lions for Lambs” (2007). “W.” has a similar artificiality that is off-putting to me. Perhaps it is the historical-fiction nature of the film, as opposed to its physical production design. To some degree, “W.” seems more like a made-for-TV movie than a widespread theater-release.

On a personal but non-political note, I’ll never forget how my wife and I found a walking stick after one of the Bush-Kerry debates in 2004. We named him “Dubya.” Our walking stick was disappointing, however, because it wasn’t a walking stick after all: It was only a stick.

Directed by Oliver Stone
Josh Brolin / Richard Dreyfuss / Elizabeth Banks
Biography / Drama 129 min.
MPAA: PG-13 (for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse and brief disturbing war images)

U.S. Release Date: October 17, 2008
Copyright 2008: 322