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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

A life misunderestimated.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The White House speechwriter named "Mike" (Colin Hanks) is based on two real speechwriters for George W. Bush, David Frum, who wrote the "Axis of Evil" speech, and Michael Gerson, who was Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 to 2006.

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Goofs

When W. is watching a College World Series baseball game, the commentator announces the Longhorns going up 2-1. The video shows the University of Miami (FL) Hurricanes scoring a run.

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Quotes

George Herbert Walker Bush: If I remember correctly, you didn't like the sporting goods job or the oil rig job. Working in the investment firm wasn't for you either. That ranchette thing in Arizona, that sure didn't last long. Didn't exactly finish up with flying colors in the Air National Guard, Junior. We're still not out of that one. Now this gal Susie shooting her mouth off about you knocking her up.
George W. Bush: Wait a sec, how'd you know about that?
George Herbert Walker Bush: Word gets around, boy-o.
George W. Bush: That's a dang lie, Poppy. I use a condom, I'm not... dumb.
George Herbert Walker Bush: ...
[...]

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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

References 60 Minutes (1968)

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Soundtracks

The Yellow Rose of Texas
Arranged by Don George
Performed by Mitch Miller
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Uncomfortable

One word sums up how I felt while watching W: uncomfortable.

I went into this film expecting more of an absurdist comedy than a tragedy. The level of realism was far beyond what I expected. For the most part, the cast, makeup, and casting crew did such a good job with the characters that it was very easy to imagine that these were not actors on the screen but the actual people. Josh Brolin's characterization of W was certainly Oscar-worthy.

Even better than Brolin's part was Phedon Papamichael's photographic direction. The job of the Director of Photography is to bring the story to life through the creation of images to draw the attention of the viewer where the Director wants. Few films are as good of an example of this as W. Papamichael used the camera to force moral and emotional perspective in a way that I have rarely seen outside of the films of Stanley Kubrick. I've only seen the film once, viewing it as a complete work. I intend to watch it again to study the photography.

Overall, I thought the film was fair in its treatment of the actual people involved. The most ardent Bush supporters will not like it, but to still be that supportive of him in the final months of his second term, you either have to not be paying attention or be uncritical in all of your thought. While artistic license was taken throughout the film, the portrayal of all events and people, with the possible exception of Dick Cheney, were far more grounded in reality and recorded history than I expected.

The film made me uncomfortable on multiple levels, which is why it succeeds and deserves such a high rating. The portrayal of Bush's relationship with his parents, especially his father, forces the viewer to feel sorry for him. The overt religiosity that pervades the public service portion of his life must anger anyone who believes strongly in the separation of church and state. There are many moments when, with any other characters, the film should have generated much laughter. Only one moment in the film actually caused more than one person in the theater to laugh. I guess 4000+ dead soldiers drains the humor out of even the most hilarious gaffes.

I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a realistic portrayal of historical events. I wish Stone had waited until Bush was out of office to make it, though. While it captures the major events that were involved in building the Bush legacy, it ends far too early.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Oliver Stone Site Production Notes

Country:

USA Australia Hong Kong Switzerland China

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

17 October 2008 (Canada)

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 Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1