W. (2008)

A chronicle of the life and Presidency of George W. Bush.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Stanley Weiser

Stars:

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ioan Gruffudd

1 win & 8 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.

---

Plot Keywords:

banana | ape | talking monkey | monkey | family relationships | 

---

Taglines:

A life misunderestimated.

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Oliver Stone Site Production Notes

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 USA:

$10,505,668, 19 October 2008

Gross USA:

$25,534,493

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,560,587

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate, QED International, Omnilab Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of three Oliver Stone-directed films (to date, August 2018) about an American president whose title references the name of the president. The others are JFK (1991), Nixon (1995) and W. (2008), the nickname of George W. Bush.

---

Goofs

In several scenes set in 2001-2002, several Dr. Pepper bottles have 2008 logos.

---

Quotes

Thatcher: Following in your father's footsteps there, Bushy?

---

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.

---

Connections

References The Lone Ranger (1949)

---

Soundtracks

Blue Skirt Waltz
Written by Václav Bláha and Mitchell Parish
Performed by Hank Thompson
Courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Great Acting, Very Entertaining Film

I had a chance to see this film on Wednesday and I loved it !!! I'm not a Bush fan or supporter, however what I loved most about it is that it isn't a Bush-hate fest. Rather, it was a successful attempt to show Bush as simply a man with several human foibles, many of which just happen to be hilarious.

What makes the movie so amusing is that Stone miraculously finds a way for you to not laugh at Bush the man. Rather, one laughs at the improbability of the entire Bush saga.

Against that backdrop is the importance of the fine performances given by the actors.

Some actors, like Banks as Laura Bush, give performances that are good but that are altogether too predictable and uninspired.

On the other hand, Brolin nails his performance as he turns Bush from a doofus to a poor schmuck that finds out too late that he's in over his head.

Newton is the OTHER BRIALLIANT performance in the film. Although, some critics apparently wanted the average TV-Movie-muck type of performance where the actress finds the "lighter side" of the real life person, Newton and Stone smartly resist that trite nonsense.

Newton transcends her own glamorous persona and gives a hard-as-nails imitation of Rice as a person that is smart enough to understand and follow those that actually have the power in the Bush White House as she helps them manipulate Bush to acquiesce to their desires.

Newton's performance successfully evokes images of the Rice that recently went to Russia and had the nerve to coolly and robotically lecture Putin on why it's OK for the U.S. to travel half the globe to punish those who kill Americans, but it's not OK for Russia to go over its border to punish those that kill Russian citizens.

It's one of the gutsier performances all year by anyone, male or female, and it really helps make the movie great.

As I stated at the beginning W. is great, and we finally get a movie that appeals to those of us that don't want to waste $10 bucks on a film about a Hollywood Chihuahua.