Stone, Cast Powers Bush Bio-Pic

You hear the name Oliver Stone and you think of one thing...controversy. Yet, Stone has surprised us over the past couple years. When he was set to direct World Trade Center, a lot of people were dreading his vision of it. Surprisingly though, it turned out rather brilliant and magnificent. So, here we are again. Only this time, it's not a tragic event. It's someone's life. Stone is no stranger to doing a movie about a President (he directed JFK in 1991 and Nixon in 1995), but this is the first film to made about a current sitting President! We know from articles that Stone was never a real big supporter of George W. Bush, so we were all a bit skeptical of how he would portay "Dubya's" life. Well, once again, we're surprised.

It seems George (Josh Brolin) himself has never had it easy. Always living in the shadow of his successful father, George Sr. (James Cromwell). George doesn't try to hard neither. He's constantly getting drunk and arrested at frat parties while attending Yale. He can never hold a single job his father gets for him, which includes working on an oil rig. Of course, George thinks he can get away with it. After becoming a born again Christian, G.W. wises up and decides he'd like to follow in his father's footsteps and run for public office. His belief in religious destiny helps him as he climbs the political ladder, from being Governor of Texas to our current President of the United States. The movie flashes back and forth from Bush's past to his time as President, not long after 9/11, when he's stuck with the decision of sending troops overseas to fight.

Stone does a wise job avoiding just about everything Bush has been criticized for over the years (such as his response to the 9/11 attacks). Stone's direction and the A-list cast's support are what really hold this movie up, though. Brolin does a terrific job as Bush, Jr. We also get Elizabeth Banks as the future First Lady, Laura; Richard Dreyfuss as VeeP Dick Cheney; Scott Glenn as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Ioan Gruffudd as British PM Tony Blair; Toby Jones as G.W.'s aide and (to an extent) right-hand man Karl Rove; and Jeffrey Wright as Gen. Colin Powell. They all play their roles magnificently and each one holding up there own. Cromwell does a superb job in a non-parodic version of Bush, Sr. The only cast member that I felt was a problem was Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice. I felt the performance was a little too phoned in, like she was doing an "SNL" skit or something. It didn't really work too well. For the others, it more or less came natural to them. This movie is interesting to watch because you view points of a man who's been criticized constantly since he took office and see what it was really like for him growing up. Even Bush-haters I bet would be curious enough to watch this film. It just further proves that you can't judge a book by its cover.

3 1/2 stars