REVIEW: W.

STARRING: Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 10/17/2008 DATE SCREENED: 10/14/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

At this point many of us have probably wondered how George W. Bush went from being a ‘C’ student and an alcoholic to the President of the United States. A President who had an approval rating of approximately 90% in 2001, but now has one of 23%. Oliver Stone attempts to answer that question with the film “W.”. It’s surprising that this film is being released while Bush is still in office, as the final chapter of Bush’s Presidency is still being written. But unless he captures Osama Bin Laden on his last day in office, it’s safe to say that his Presidency will end being considered one of the worst.

“W.” covers George W. Bush’s (Josh Brolin) life from the time he pledged a fraternity in college until the Iraq war is basically extended indefinitely. He attended Yale and Harvard Business School, thanks to the influence of his father. Bush wandered from job to job after school, trying to find his niche. Along the way he weds Laura Bush (Elizabeth Banks). He eventually ends up as the owner of the Texas Rangers. When Bush Sr. (James Cromwell ) becomes President, he has high hopes that Jeb would be the son to follow in his legacy. But Bush Jr. eventually decides to quit drinking and get into the family business. He loses his first election, but that only serves as extra motivation. In his next election he becomes the Governor of Texas. While Governor, Bush believes that he receives a message from God to run for President. Once President, Bush’s approval rating reaches its peak after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, due to Bush’s strong response to go to war on terror. Bush’s assembled team of advisors includes Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove (Toby Jones), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), General Colin Powel (Jeffrey Wright), and Condeleezza Rice (Thandie Newton). The war on terror started out as an attempt to squash Al Qaeda and capture Osama Bin Laden. It quickly moved into an attack on Iraq. Bush himself always told his father that he should have taken out Saddam Hussein. He seems determined to do what his father would not, regardless of the opinion of the countries of the United Nations. Cheney wants to attack Iraq because they control so much of the world’s oil. Colin Powel is the lone voice of reason, preaching patience and saying that a preemptive strike on Iraq is not a good idea. Bush knows that the American public will not approve of going to war based on personal reasons or oil, so they must show that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The strike on Iraq is approved with the slightest bit of “proof”. Saddam is captured and the Bush Administration declares victory. But chaos continues to reign in Iraq, soldiers continue to die, there is no exit strategy, and Bush is eventually forced to admit that there are no WMDs. This is ultimately what will define Bush’s Presidential legacy.

“W.” is a very interesting portrait of George Bush. The father-son relationship is a big part of the film, as Bush is always trying to prove himself to his father. Bush feels that Jeb was always his father’s favorite son. Despite his rich upbringing, Bush is the kind of guy that a lot of America felt they would want to sit down and have a beer with. He never comes across as the rich Ivy League educated man that can not relate to the common person. His brother is the one who comes across that way, and although his brother did eventually become governor of Florida, he doesn’t have that charisma to win the Presidency. Bush’s personality, combined with Karl Rove shaping his views on the issues and debate strategies, are the main factors to his successful Presidential campaigns. Unlike his father, Bush makes his decisions based on gut feelings or “messages from God”, as opposed to thinking things through. As president, this makes it hard for him to sift through all the advice from his advisors and pick out the best course of action.

Josh Brolin IS George Bush in this movie. He does a brilliant acting job. Richard Dryfuss is also great as Dick Cheney. All the actors do good work except for Thandie Newton. She seems to be doing a caricature of Condelleza that is more appropriate for Saturday Night Live. Oliver Stone does his best to cut back and forth between the different periods of Bush’s life, but the movie does still drag in spots. I do think this movie should have been made next year, as opposed to this year. It ends without feeling like you’ve seen a complete story arc. With a movie like this, I do wonder how much of it is completely accurate. With Bush still President, who is leaking stories about what went on in the meetings with his advisers? But the film is an engaging enough portrait of the man to be worth a trip to the theater. I’ll end with a quote from comedian Chris Rock, “A black C student can't do sh__ with his life. A black C student can't be a manager at Burger King, meanwhile a white C student just happens to be the President of the United States.” No wonder this county is in such a dire situation…