I’ve been working myself up to see this film. I was a bit nervous about it going in. Oliver Stone’s recent work (Alexander) had left me a bit disappointed, and I was nervous that the director was starting to lose some of his creativity – after his trio of Vietnam films, maybe there wasn’t much left in the tank. Then I heard about “W” – a film about George W. Bush, and our sitting President. I wasn’t sure how Stone would be able to pull off a film about a guy that was still in office. In a bizarre set of coincidences, I personally find myself linked more closely than ever to W. Let's start with the fact that I'm traveling for work, and my hotel room number is 911. Strange, almost eerie in some respects. Every time I open the door to my room I find myself genuflecting on the events of September 11, 2001, and even more so, how our current President responded to that crisis. The 911 coincidence I could dismiss, however, if I didn't find myself in what is considered his home state. I was flipping through the guest magazines in my room, and I discovered that Mr. Bush had traveled to the Little Diner while Governor. Seeing this as some sort of sign, I made the sojourn to the famed restaurant, to see just exactly what the fuss was about. I've never had gorditas - true gorditas - before this afternoon. Wow. I can understand why there's a fuss for this place. The diner is situated next to a trailer park, of all things, and from the outside looking in, is an unassuming place. In fact, I found myself double checking the sign out front to make sure I had the right place. Walking in, I was greeted by several accolades and awards, including a large framed newspaper and picture showing W at the table I was sitting at. But man the food is beyond incredible. Aside from the ridiculously good gorditas, the salsa was amazing as well - and some of the spiciest I've had on this trip. As far as Mexican food goes, this will probably go down as one of my top one or two dining experiences. If I were to give it a ranking, I'd have to go 5 out of 5. So good I may go again, if I can find some time in my trip to make the journey. Having eaten my delicious gorditas, I decided to go check out the movie. In reality, I had intended to see Max Payne, but when I got to the theater I was told that it wasn't starting for another 2 hours. Rather than waste that time, I sighed a little bit and asked for a ticket to see W, not really understanding the film I was about to go see. Josh Brolin is awesome in the title role, and while physically he doesn't look much like the man he's playing, his accent and mannerisms scream W. The rest of the acting comes off extremely well; I really liked Jeffrey Wright's performance as Colin Powell. Richard Dreyfuss is masterful as Dick Cheney. Karl Rove is spot-on creepy. For those of you expecting this to be some kind of hatchet job on Bush, you're going to be disappointed. The film remains well grounded and even-toned, a melodramatic docudrama of the rise of George W. Bush. Not surprisingly, the majority of the plot centers around the War in Iraq, the run-up to the war, the WMDs, Mission Accomplished - it's all here. What surprised me the most is that Bush isn't a complete buffoon in this film. Instead he's a bit of a tragic clown, portrayed as a man desperate to garner his father's affection. Stone's directing never allows the film to wander into satirical parody territory - the film remains even in tone and pace throughout. I appreciated the back and forth nature of the story, with more recent events interspersed with biographical history. Aesthetically, the film uses close-ups and handicams to add to the sense of being "in the room" with the cast, and helps add to the documentary feel of the film. Overall, this is a pretty brilliant film, and utterly watchable. 4.5 out of 5 stars. I’m wrapping up my evening by watching Missouri – Texas this evening, drinking a beer and munching on some pretzels. Not really sure I know who I’m rooting for, although after today I guess I have to support the Longhorns. I figure it’s a fitting end to a W day.
