43%
59%
trailer + clips
overview
Flashbacks to key events in his life reveal the rise of George W. Bush from ne'er-do-well party boy and son of privilege to president of the United States. After trading in booze for religion, George mends his aimless ways and sets his sights first on the Texas governorship, then on the presidency. But the country's involvement in the Iraq war decreases his approval rating.
Length: 131 minutes
reviews + articles
Users
-
One of the worst films I've seen in recent years
W is an example of a filmmaker's failure to deliver a clear message. The general tone is that of a serious drama, with bouts of tiresome goofiness and "Bushisms" scattered thoughtlessly throughout. While the characters are dressed to physically resemble their real-life counterparts, their highly caricatured personalities are nowhere near target. Some actors, such as those who played Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, seem as if they have not researched their characters at all.
Worst of all is the portrayal of the main character, George W. Bush. Although the actor does a fairly good job of tackling the real Bush's mannerisms and way of speaking, the character seems to be written haphazardly. There is an attempt to create a sympathetic character, while at the same time making him out to be a complete idiot. Not a funny, charming, cleverly written idiot, but an exasperating idiot that you wish would go away. The film would have done well to choose just one angle: either keep the portrayals accurate and avoid desperate attempts at appeasing people who already hate Bush, or put the whole thing in an all-out comedy format. Some people can pull off both seriousness and comedy in one film. W fails at this.
Lastly, for those who already have a general idea of what went on in America for the past 8 years, the film offers no new insight into American politics. Besides perhaps the thin father-son plot, there is absolutely nothing shown in the film that any well-informed citizen doesn't already know. There are no thought-provoking twists, no revelations, no epiphanies. In the end, it seems like the only thing the film is standing on is the fact that it is about somebody famous. Yet despite the real George W. Bush being a generally easy target for ridicule, W manages to fail on all fronts. -
A Plausible and Disturbingly Comic George W. Bush
Like a blackout, drunken, haze, this film pulls the viewer along in a surreal blitz of W's life in politics. Centered on the Iraq War with a sequence of flashbacks tracing his rise to power the viewer is left with a montage of George W. Bush. Tremendous performances by the entire cast with Richard Dreyfus as Cheney an obvious choice for an Oscar nomination this year.
-
W. gets a F!!
This film and I barely cal it that was really bad!!
I would expect more from Oliver Stone!!! It was dry and went on and on!
