SEE?
Alright. WHAT THE HELL?! I'm a lifelong Democrat (and a Texan.) I should not leave a movie about George "W." Bush or George "H.W." Bush or George "W.T.F." Bush feeling anything but a validation of the rage I've been carrying around since we failed to catch Osama Bin Laden and entered Iraq looking for imaginary WMDs. Instead, Oliver, I see your film, and I actually felt sorry for this guy. I'm not supposed to be thinking, "Hey, Poppy! Take it easy on 'W.' Clearly, he's an underachiever with a run of good luck that would make leprecans envious. And, by the by, whose fault is that, Poppy?" Oh, Oliver. What happened to my cynical, liberal, heart-on-the-sleeve, card-carrying crazy man? Okay. Maybe he's still cynical. It's not a very flattering portrait of the man. There are many, many jabs at the Bushes and at Republican politics. It's just that the movie doesn't take itself seriously except when dealing with the relationship between "W." and his father. The actors playing various cabinet members (with the welcome exception of Richard Dreyfus and Jeffrey Wright) essentially employ a strategem of facial positioning that, at least in my screening, elicited nothing but laughter. Let's face it. It's hard to play those "characters" straight no matter who you are. Still. It's a presidential adminstration. There should be some gravitas. Oh, wait, I forgot who I was misspeaking about.
I recall that after making "The Queen" Stephen Frears quipped he should receive an award for having the chutzpah to make a film about a living monarch. I'm betting Ollie doesn't have such fears. (I'm also betting that Ollie doesn't like being called Ollie.) You can't fear someone you don't respect. Anyway, Oliver probably figured that enough vitriol against 'W.' exists in America to make backlash against Mr. Stone almost impossible. Although, it is Oliver Stone, he probably welcomes backlash. After all, no backlash, no Oliver Stone. Anyway, most of the movie is such a parody of a "W.'s" life and presidency that it's hardly worth the effort of calling it liberal propaganda. This joke may be on the American people. Poke fun at Bush if you dare. Just remember that nobody (not even his family) believed he had a chance in hell of becoming anything worthy of the "Bush" name, and this guy gets elected President of the United States of America. Twice. That's one more time than his Poppy, people. What does that say about the state of the American presidency? And who did we misunderestimate exactly?
EAT.
White bread sandwiches. Of all the food served in this movie, it was the white bread sandwich that "W." has served to him in the White House with Cheetos that caught my eye. I mean...,really? You can take the boy outta Texas but you can't put him back in Connecticutt. I guess somebody, somewhere has to eat the white bread. Why not the president? So, in honor of our nation's highest office and the C minus students who get to occupy it visit www.familyoven.com.recipes/search.sandwiches.
SHOP.
No. Not cowboy hats and boots. Puh-leeeze! Too obvious. Accent elimination. According to the Sam Chwat Speech center, standard American English is "an accent of American English which does not distract the listener or reveal and regionalisms." No idea what language "W." is speaking then. While I don't believe Bush is a complete idiot as some liberals do, I do believe (and I'm a native Texan) that some accents convey a certain "simpleness." Go ahead. Call me names. Then go ask the international community what they thought when our cowboy president first opened his mouth . I'm betting they thought collectively, "Where the hell did he get that accent? His Poppy doesn't talk like that." Before you run for President, try to adopt a neutral, you-don't-know-what-part-of-the country-I-hail from way of speaking. I'm sure that even Bill Clinton toned down the Arkansas lilt when he started addressing groups larger than a backyard barbecue. For accent elimination classes visit http://www.samchwatspeechcenter.com/. Although, it is based out of New York. The center does offer video classes. (There are, by the way, an awful lot of accent elimination classes offered in the New York area according to my Google search. Hmmmm.)
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