W. (I) (2008)

A chronicle on the life and presidency of George W. Bush.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Stanley Weiser

Stars:

Josh Brolin, Colin Hanks, Elizabeth Banks

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josh Brolin	...	George W. Bush
Colin Hanks	...	Speechwriter #1
Toby Jones	...	Karl Rove
Dennis Boutsikaris	...	Paul Wolfowitz
Jeffrey Wright	...	Colin Powell
Thandie Newton	...	Condoleezza Rice
Scott Glenn	...	Donald Rumsfeld
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Dick Cheney
Bruce McGill	...	George Tenet
Wes Chatham	...	Fraternity Enforcer
Jesse Bradford	...	Fraternity President
Sean Stone	...	Fraternity Pledge #1
Ben Mayer	...	Fraternity Pledge #2
James Cromwell	...	George H.W. Bush
Juan Gabriel Pareja	...	Oil Worker

Storyline

Oliver Stone's biographical take on the life of George W. Bush, one of the most controversial presidents in USA history, chronicling from his wild and carefree days in college, to his military service, to his governorship of Texas and role in the oil business, his 2000 candidacy for president, his first turbulent four years, and his 2004 re-election campaign.

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Plot Keywords:

president | texas | usa | oil | college | 

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Taglines:

Get Ready

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse, smoking and brief disturbing war images

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Entertainment [us] Lionsgate Entertainment

Country:

USA Australia Hong Kong Switzerland China

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bush

Filming Locations:

Millennium Studios- 300 Douglas Street, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£183,065 (UK) (14 November 2008)

Gross:

$25,517,500 (USA) (28 November 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, QED International, Omnilab Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in only 46 days.

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Goofs

A scene in 1988 in George Bush Snr's Vice-Presidential office shows them discussing him becoming a "born again" Christian. When Karl is leaving, in the first shot he walks past W, who is holding the door, and is almost out of the office. Then in the next shot he is back by his chair and again walks past W and gives him a VCR.

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Quotes

Barbara Bush: [about W. running for Governor of Texas] The fact is you can't win.
George W. Bush: Why do you say that?
Barbara Bush: Because you're too much like me. You're loud, and you've got a short fuse. Now, Jeb is like your father. He thinks before he speaks.

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, you see a Christian cross with a period. It morphs into the W-period logo of the movie.

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Connections

Referenced in Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W Bush (2009)

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Soundtracks

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Performed by Jake White
Courtesy of Stone Angel Music, Inc.

User Reviews

A Toneless mess

W.- *½/****

Oliver Stone's W. is an oddity. There's no other word for it. In attempting to provide psychological commentary on the presidency of George W. Bush, it forgets the simple cinematic basics of story, structure and character. The tone of the film is nearly non existent, leaving its admirable cast of actors on shaky ground without a leg to stand on.

Stone juxtaposes the rise of "Dubya" (played by Josh Brolin) with his decision to begin the current Iraq War. In displaying Bush's journey from frat boy to drunk to born again AA member to leader of the free world, Stone has enough material to create a wicked absurdist satire, or compelling political theater. However, Stone seems hell-bent on making a film that remains neutral toward the forty- third President, giving him the ability to say things like, "It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors."# Well, yes, I was surprised indeed. Surprised that the man who's made films as vibrant and lively as JFK and Natural Born Killers, as somber and emotional as Platoon or Born on the Fourth of July has rendered this film completely dull and lifeless.

Perhaps Stone isn't completely to blame. Stanley Weiser's script, bland and talky in the worst possible way, contains figures instead of characters, and when put into scenes these figure say exactly what should be shown in outlets other than dialog removing any hope for subtlety.

I do know this, the film's failure is certainly not the fault of the cast which includes actors as esteemed as Richard Dreyfuss and Ellen Burstyn. By and large (with the exception of Thandie Newton's dreadful aping of Condoleezza Rice) the cast excels at inhabiting the situation. This is especially true for Brolin who's performance is so complete and convincing that it overshadows the entire film and underlines the numerous flaws. Beyond physical inhabitation and imitation, Brolin's performance shows a deep understanding of Dubya as a man, I wish I could say the same about the film.