W. – DVD Review

In trying to do some research on a certain Prez, I went to a popular online encyclopedia, but putting his name in the search box and pressing enter only brought up the entry for Nazism.

Not really fair, but never has a U.S. President been as reviled as “Dubya,” but when likability polls are done he always scores well.

George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) lives in the shadow of his father George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell). He’s got the fiery temperament of his mother Barbara (Ellen Burstyn) so he and his father are always at odds. That and they seem to be grooming his brother Jeb (Jason Ritter) to carry on the Bush legacy and win the White House after his father’s term is done. Under this pressure, W. turns to alcohol before having his “road to Damascus” conversion and giving up the bottle. By then he’s married Laura (Elizabeth Banks) and is the governor of Texas - Jeb having lost his governor bit in Florida. He makes a run for the presidency and wins. His cabinet includes vice president Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), secretary of state Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), national security advisor Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), chief of staff Karl Rove (Toby Jones) CIA director George Tenet (Bruce McGill), secretary of commerce Donald Evans (Noah Wyle), and press secretary Ari Fleischer (Rob Corddry). W. gets to finish the war that his father started by invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, but his greatest victory may well lead to his downfall.

In my lifetime, I’ve never seen a president so polarizing as George W. Bush. A likeable and genial Texan, but to some he’s equated with everyone from Adolf Hitler to Satan and to other he’s worse than both of those evil figures. Frankly, to call Bush that is just disingenuous. I just checked and his entry in the online encyclopedia I was talking about actually goes to his page and not Nazism now. Sigh, these sorts of “internet bombs” are rather annoying. If anyone is to judge the legacy of W., it’s to be history and not some rabid loony who says that he’s worse than Hitler. I had my doubts about a Hollywood film being made about a sitting president (isn’t this the first one?) and had even more doubts when Oliver Stone was the one pitching it. I like Stone’s work (even sat through his extended cut of Alexander) but also know that he seems to have never met a conspiracy theory that he didn’t like. Christian Bale was supposed to start as W. but the makeup wasn’t satisfying to him so he dropped out. This led to the casting of Josh Brolin and probably a near aneurysm of his stepmother Barbara Streisand, who falls into the “Bush is worse than Hitler” crowd. I’m glad that Brolin didn’t listen to step mama and actually saw the challenge in portraying the role. He’s excellent in the film and seems to become Bush. Sure there are some roads taken by Stone that probably are more fiction than fact, the menu music put me in mind of the Godfather and I wondered if Stone was equating the Bush’s with mobsters (I’m sure some will pound their fist and “that’s right, they’re worse than mobsters!”). I can’t imagine that all of the family drama in the film is something that Stone would’ve had knowledge of either. My concerns about Stone directing the picture turned out to be mostly unfounded as he’s painted a very evenhanded portrait of Bush and doesn’t make him out to be a devil.

He reserves that satanic glee for Dreyfuss as Chaney. One scene has Cheney give a “we’re taking over the world speech” worthy of Dr. Strangelove and then has him slink back into the shadows like a dark phantom. If there was a bit of casting that didn’t work for me I’d have to say that it was Thandie Newton as Condi. She spends the beginning of the film with a look of constant constipation and her voice sounds like a cartoon character. I’ve not gone and studied film of the real Rice, but she never struck me as buffoonish as she’s portrayed here. W. is a good film, just don’t expect the Bush bashing that you might be wanting. I wonder if Stone will be fair and balanced and is in Hollywood right now pitching an Obama picture? Just kidding. W. is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by Oliver Stone. Whatever you think of the man his commentaries are always an interesting listen. The 17 minute “Dangerous Dynasty: The Bush Legacy” is a Bush hater’s dream. You also get the 94-second trailer. On DVD-ROM you get the filmmaker’s research and annotation guide. There are also trailers for other Lionsgate DVDs. W. is a film that might not be able to please anyone – Bush is not evil enough for haters and probably too much familial angst for the lovers. What you can’t deny is that Josh Brolin provides a fascinating performance.