Charlie Wilson’s War
Netflix | Amazon
Overall Rating: 7/10
Meets Expectations: +2
Apparent Rating: 9/10
Again this was a movie where I queued it but did not think it was going to be worth watching. I rarely like movies that are based on real events. The usual way a “real story” is put into a movie is designed to make people cry and cry and cry, because nothing that isn’t miserable and painful is “real” to filmmakers out for an Oscar. Charlie Wilson’s War was surprisingly funny for a movie about a covert war.
There were scenes where the spy guy, Gus, was telling Charlie Wilson that a sex scandal is a good thing because the press sees sex in the left hand and you can hide a tank in the right hand. (Paraphrased, but you get the idea.) That was funny.
Tom Hanks was very good. He’s played so many “I’m the good guy!” roles that I wondered if he could pull off being a skeevy dude. He did. You totally believe that he loves being a politician but has no moral qualms about the freely offered sex of the 70s.
I really enjoyed the tension between the spy guy and Julia Roberts’ character who is the prissy churchy Texas lady with the money who was the impetus behind the original idea. I like it when the god-ridden are told to simmer down. I love it when a movie manages to portray the god-ridden as effracking insane and only nominally tolerated by thinking people, the same way any other kind of clinical madness would be if it wasn’t dangerous and the person had obscene amounts of money.
I did not like, however, the way the whole movie was done as an enormous flashback. I would have preferred them omitting the opening scene with the award.
I really enjoyed the discussion of the endgame after the covert war and how that has sabotaged our entire middle-east diplomatic mission ever since.
Overall, I considered it a mildly educational movie, with good acting, excellent writing, that told a story, which happened to be true (but would have made a good story regardless.) If you were a fan of The West Wing, the movie is written by Aaron Sorrenson who was the big guy behind that. If you like that kind of political drama writing, this movie should get kicked up to the top of your list.
