Directed by Oliver Stone (JFK, Nixon, Wall Street, Platoon, World Trade Center, Alexander, etc.)

Starring Josh “W” Brolin, Richard “Cheney” Dreyfess, James “Bush Sr.” Cromwell (also Babe’s father/owner), Ellen “Barbara Bush” Burstyn, Thandie “Condoleezza” Newton, etc.

IMDB Synopsis: “Oliver Stone’s biographical take on the life of George W. Bush, chronicling from 1967 to his wild and carefree days in college, to his governorship of Texas and oil businesses, leading to his 2000 candidacy for president, his first turbulent four years to his 2004 re-election campaign.”

I started writing this post two weeks ago, but never had a chance to finish it. There’s so much I could write, but I’ll keep it brief. Lets start with the fact that I am a huge Oliver Stone fan/apologist. Keeping that in mind… I enjoyed this film. That is to say, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. 

Although there’s certainly an undertone of Bush-mocking going on, I would say that the main drive of the film is to construct a sympathetic portrait of George W. Bush as a person. Because the purpose of the film is not to condemn the long term effects of the Bush administration and it’s policies, I don’t think that it necessarily needs historical hindsight, despite the widespread criticism that it received for this very reason upon release. 

Interesting subject material. A fair depiction of a sitting president who has been prone to polarization. Great performances by Josh Brolin and Richard Dreyfess.

7/10

**Interesting note about Stone (according to IMDB Trivia): “Known for the political content of his films, Stone was a member of the Class of 1968 at Yale University along with US President Bill Clinton, administration adviser Strobe Talbot and future President George W. Bush (John Kerry was also there at the same time as Stone, though he was several classes ahead of ‘68). Stone left Yale after only one year and ended up joining the army and fighting in Vietnam. He never returned to graduate from Yale.”