During the past few months, I've had the pleasure of reviewing films that reference today's political climate. It seems as though this is that time of year when filmmakers have banded together to get off their deep-dwelling anger and true feelings about the situation in Iraq off their chests. Now that the year is coming to a close, most of these highly anticipated films have come and gone with some receiving praise (In the Valley of Elah) and some being dismissed as overly-stagy, preachy, and ineffective (Lions for Lambs, Rendition). However, none of these films have been given the Mike Nichols treatment. The much-respected filmmaker brings laughter and truth to yet another political film on the winter slate, Charlie Wilson's War.
Unlike the previously mentioned films that take direct aim at the contemporary climate, Charlie Wilson's War takes us back to the 1980s and is based on real life events, yet it still presents an undeniable parallel or connection to today's issues. The always lovable and nicey-nice Tom Hanks throws away the sensitivity to play a character with compassion for booze and women. Charlie Wilson is a Southern-raised congressman that unsurprisingly fits the profile of other politicians who have graced headlines. While he does occasionally do political work, he would much rather take advantage of his powerful position to enjoy the finer things in life. He staffs his office with so many attractive, brainless bimbos, and offers guests a glass of fine scotch, even in the earliest hours of the morning. Besides his vices, Wilson does care about a few things political. This includes providing aid to the Afghani people, who are under attack from the Soviets, America's #1 enemy.
This is an ideal time for Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) to step in. The right wing, wealthy, Southern socialite is an on-again, off-again sexual partner for Charlie, and the congressman is all ears when Herring proposes an idea to raise more money to aid Afghanistan with weapons of defense against the Soviets. After personally traveling to Afghanistan and seeing children deformed and mutilated from enemy attacks, he goes to work on raising money to support the cause. This is mostly in thanks to the aid of disgruntled CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a man who despises his boss and job assignments, and wants nothing more but to break out of his shell and kill some Russians.
Charlie Wilson's War is this year's much-needed dosage of political comedy that does things right. While it isn't this year's best picture, it successfully completes its goals in a neat 97-minute runtime. Television scribe Aaron Sorkin penned the script, and does so without too much pretentious, left-wing bias. While the character of Joanne Herring is a tad overkill, she is omitted from the storyline just enough to capitalize on the more humanistic qualities of Charlie Wilson. The film is another wise tale about the error of human man. Wilson may be a sexist scoundrel like many of politicians, but he is not set up as a greedy, power-hungry destructionist. The script carefully points out that the actions of this politician were with the best of intentions, but were followed by results that continue to affect America's fears and anxieties today.
Along the lines of performances, Hanks and Roberts ham things up as quirky politicians, and Hanks himself carries the film as a strong lead. However, the real kudos here go to Philip Seymour Hoffman. Today, Hoffman is the go-to guy for playing overweight grumps, but the actor manages to play these roles with uniqueness every time. Whenever Hoffman is in front of the camera, he never fails at being funny as he shuffles across a room with a Chris Farley-like gait, or uses his pent-up rage to throw profanity at anyone who disagrees with him. Hoffman truly does steal the show and his performance merits a Supporting Actor nod at this year's Oscars.
In the long run, Charlie Wilson's War is the much-needed political comedy to grace theaters this season. It tells an entertaining true story with a moral message bundled up inside and still manages to make us laugh. It also gives us a much-needed vacation from the war in Iraq back to the 1980s Soviet scare. Yes, it is somewhat of a prequel for the events to come, but it is still a relief to get some reference to more than just Iraq, which has been run into the ground throughout the fall movie season. This may not win the award for Best Picture, but Mike Nichols comes through once more with Charlie Wilson's War in delivering star power combined with sharp and humorous social commentary. My advice would be to leave the kids with a babysitter and catch this during a chilly, weekend matinee.
Questions? Comments? Just want to talk movies? Drop me a line at dodd@movieweb.com
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