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 | rap music | 

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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

Star Warren Beatty's first acting role in a theatrical feature film since Love Affair (1994) around four years earlier.

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Goofs

Crewmember visible twice when Bulworth is dancing with Nina in the nightclub.

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Quotes

Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth: It's up to the people to decide what the state of California and the nation will do.
[starts rhyming]
Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth: Ooh, what we'll do, the nation we'll do. It's up to you, what'll we do / What we'll do, well, it's up to you
[starts rapping]
Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth: You know, it ain't that funny, you contribute on my money/ You make a contribution, and you get a solution/ As long as you can pay, I'm gonna do it all your way/ Yes, the money talks and the people walk.
[Tanya puts some background rap music]
Sen. Jay Billington Bulworth: Yeah!/ Now, let me hear you say...
[...]

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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

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Billy Bob Thornton/Lily Collins/Dr. Sanjay Gupta/Atom Willard (2016)

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Soundtracks

Bitches Are Hustlers Too
Written by Jamecia 'Mimi' Ward, Denice 'Nece' Saulsberry, Owen Ratliff, and B. Major
Performed by D-Fyne
Produced by Eddie B for Nu Flavor Music and Don White
Courtesy of Ratti Records/Columbus Mob Production Company and The Major Group

User Reviews

Shrewd Message Movie

The movie may look goofy, but it's not. Note how the rule of big money behind our democratic façade is exposed. It could have been done in bits and pieces and through corruptive behavior, but that would have made the message less focused. Of course, simply declaiming the political message would have sounded preachy.

Instead, Bulworth does a wacky in-your-face by delivering the message in unmistakable, yet entertaining fashion. That's done by having the senator succumb to an alter ego brought on by mental exhaustion over his planned suicide. Serious messages are then wrapped in comedic contrasts. No more suit and tie for the new Bulworth. Instead, he looks like he went shopping in the dark at a charity ward. In fact, the now truth-telling hipster appears his real self suddenly breaking through the conventional façade. At the same time, watching him defy deadening media clichés amounts to a jarring hoot. And after romantic pursuit of an eye-catching Black woman (Berry), he learns day-to-day facts of ghetto plight by staying with her family. And when not speaking truth to power at White fund-raisers, Beatty's Bulworth uses his newly acquired hip-hop to rhyme out the message in catchy rapper fashion. Either way, it's one of the cleverest approaches to undercutting deadening political authority that I've seen.

No pretty-boy Beatty here. Pushing 60, he's haggard looking throughout, doing little to compensate until the end. Of course, that's the way it should be, given the emphasis on message. I suspect it's a movie the lefty actor-director-producer has long wanted to make. And make it he did, in spades.