when bulworth ended , i allowed myself a sigh of relief : ?
it is possible for me to enjoy political satire . ?
there have been several recent political films that did n't do a whole lot for me -- wag the dog , for instance , i found to be an intelligent but heartless film , while primary colors is unbearable and unwatchable in its awfulness . ?
bulworth is a far better film than these , both in its execution and lasting impression .
?
it 's a tremendously funny and intelligent picture , but it also has an emotional center -- writer / director / star warren beatty
allows the audience to identify with his character , and , in turn , we like him and actually care about the story . ?
beatty plays incumbent democratic senator jay billington bulworth ; the film opens and we see bulworth sobbing as he watches his television spots over and over again . ?
he has n't slept in days , nor has he eaten , and , almost instantaneously , he goes insane . ?
he 's not stark raving mad ( not outright , anyway ) , but he 's definitely bonkers .
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it 's the final weekend of his campaign , and his assistant , murphy ( oliver platt ) has written him a speech to feed to a group of black people in a church in the ghetto . ?
bulworth begins the speech , but suddenly goes off track and just starts being honest . ?
"
you mean , " one lady asks , " the democratic party does n't care about the african american community ? " ?
" well , " he shouts , laughing , " is n't that obvious ?
"
the story is propelled by a device in which bulworth puts out a contract on his own life ( he muses later that it 's a bad thing to make decisions when you 're suicidal ) ; he keeps seeing a man in sunglasses ( graham beckel ) whom he believes to be the hitman . ?
bulworth also meets nina ( halle berry ) with whom he becomes infatuated . ?
suddenly , in the short span of this weekend , bulworth 's
no - nonsense " truth in politics " methods become a national sensation , and he shoots ahead in the polls despite the fact that he 's appearing on television wearing gang clothes and spewing more profanity than coherent sentences .
beatty 's work on both sides of the camera is excellent . ?
his script and direction are both extremely sharp , as is the surprisingly strong characterization of bulworth himself . ?
here is a man who 's reached his limit , and his way of lashing back is by screwing over the entire political structure . ?
i like
that the film does n't take a clear shot at any of the political parties or affiliations , but at politics in general and how everything is run by the rich ( although the anti - rich sentiments do get a bit tiresome by the end of the film ) . ?
some of the segments are simply hilarious , such as a lengthy rap that he delivers at a luncheon dedicated to him . ?
much of the film is completely absurd , but that 's the fun part about it .
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it 's an angry , serious film at the core , but the package that beatty has created is so much more accessible
than recent attempts in the genre . ?
what adds to this feeling is beatty 's portrayal of bulworth ; this is a performance that deserves recognition on a higher scale . ?
beatty is so much fun to watch here -- he 's always funny , but he 's also subtle in ways that flesh out his character without dialogue or hugely noticeable actions . ?
beatty is so good that bulworth , despite his shortcomings as a human being , is an entirely sympathetic and likable character almost from the beginning .
the supporting cast is vast and colorful .
? berry is luminous , as always , and adds to her repertoire of solid supporting roles . ?
don
cheadle has a good role as a drug dealer who uses gun - toting toddlers to do his dirty work .
?
oliver
platt is an actor who should be careful , for someday i fear he may induce a heart attack with the intensity of his acting ( though he 's very funny to watch ) . ?
paul sorvino adds the southern accent to his list of mastered inflections .
is bulworth offensive ? ?
i suppose some may see it that way . ?
i was n't offended by the film , but then again , i hardly care about politics . ?
i think that people who find this film offensive will just be blindsided by the honesty of the story .
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the film is n't perfect , of course -- the ending did n't quite work for me , and the a few of the scenes between bulworth and nina feel forced ( although the eclectic dance sequence is fantastic ) .
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but these are minor quibbles about an otherwise brilliant film . ?
bulworth is a smart , uproariously funny picture that proves to me that political satire can scratch far deeper than the surface . ?
Output: P