Bulworth (1998)

A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.

Director:

Warren Beatty

Writers:

Warren Beatty (story), Warren Beatty (screenplay)

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Kimberly Deauna Adams

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kimberly Deauna Adams	...	Denisha
Vinny Argiro	...	Debate Director
Sean Astin	...	Gary
Kirk Baltz	...	Debate Producer
Ernie Lee Banks	...	Leroy (as Ernie Banks)
Amiri Baraka	...	Rastaman
Christine Baranski	...	Constance Bulworth
Adilah Barnes	...	Mrs. Brown
Warren Beatty	...	Jay Bulworth
Graham Beckel	...	Man with Dark Glasses
Halle Berry	...	Nina
Brandon N. Bowlin	...	Bouncer #2
Mongo Brownlee	...	Henchman #3
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Uncle Rafeeq
J. Kenneth Campbell	...	Anthony

Storyline

Senator Jay Bulworth is facing speculation-induced financial ruin, so he puts out a contract on his own life in order to collect a large, new insurance policy for his family. Living each moment on borrowed time, he suddenly begins spouting raw, unfiltered--and sometimes offensive in word but satirical in spirit -- thoughts to shocked audiences and handlers in the speech of hip-hop music and culture. His newfound uninhibitedness and new relationship with Nina carry him on a journey of political and spiritual renewal.

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Plot Keywords:

senator | truth | politics | liberal | political comedy | 

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Taglines:

Brace yourself. This politician is about to tell the truth!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language and some drug content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tribulations

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$141,816, 17 May 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$26,525,834, 6 December 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Portraying Constance Bulworth, the wife of Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (Warren Beatty), actress Christine Baranski would later play around six years later a fictional Former First Lady in another political satire, in the political comedy Welcome to Mooseport (2004), playing Charlotte Cole, the ex-wife of former U.S. President Monroe Cole (Gene Hackman).

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Goofs

When Bullworth arrives with the ribs in the bar, Compton, Murphy and the other assistant switch places between shots.

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Quotes

[Feldman and Murphy are concerned about Bulworth's rapping]
Bill Feldman: You know something? We had a next-door neighbor who would lose her mind from time to time. What was weird when she got like that was this: she could only speak in song lyrics.
Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth: Murphy, Feldman, you're lookin' pretty beat / I thought you might feel better with some ribs to eat / Eat 'em, gentlemen, you'll think they're really fine / And if you want a couple more you can get 'em anytime!
Dennis Murphy: I am incredibly frightened.

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Crazy Credits

For the song "Bulworth Breakdown", the title character Jay Bulworth is credited as a writer and performer.

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Connections

References Network (1976)

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Soundtracks

Run
Written by Cappadonna (as Darryl Hill) and RZA (as Robert Diggs Jr.)
Performed by Cappadonna
Produced by RZA
Courtesy of Razor Sharp/Epic
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

No Bull, Just Bulworth

I should have known this movie was going to be good because it came highly recommended by Matt Lueck, who seems to be very picky about what he considers "good" movies. This movie was exceptional.

If you don't like politics, this film might not be for you. Or maybe it would be for you even more, since all it does is attack the political system. Warren Beatty stars as a Seantor who is sick of all the lies and crap in Washington, so he takes out a life insurance policy and hires a hit-man to kill him. After partying with some ghetto people (including Halle Berry) he sees the error of his ways and tries to call the hit off. The rest of the film follows this path.

I liked the storyline of the film, but more so I liked the nuggets it dropped along the way. The claims of politicians using minorities, the reality of drug culture, the fact that greed controls health care in this country. I found myself agreeing with almost everything in this film (though the part about the elimination of all races went too far). The ending was also exactly what I expected it to be - and what I felt it should have been. Only they added an aspect I hadn't considered and I think it made the film so much better. (I'm being vague so as not to give anything away.) Warren Beatty rapping is both comical and annoying. But if you look past his "wack skillz" and listen to what he has to say about corporations, big oil, TV networks and more, you'll get so much more out of this film. I'm also not a fan of Halle Berry, but she was probably the best person for the role so I'm okay with that. Hooray for Oliver Platt and Sean Astin, both looking very slim in this movie.

Not the best film you'll see this year, but highly recommended just the same.