Very smart and funny but also very frustrating
Added 2/2/2009
Weeks away from his imminent re election Jay Billington Bulworth (Warren Beatty) hires an assassin to take him out. He has lost his faith in politics and can't bring himself to appear before his supporters and spout the same old speeches full of lies. Knowing that his time is limited Bulworth feels invincible and starts telling his version of the truth at his last few campaign stops. First up for the Senator is an all black church. He gets up to the pulpit reads the first sentence from his prepared speech and then goes hilariously off the script. What he says is both hilarious and shocking. One of the women in the crowd the beautiful Nina (Halle Berry) can't believe what she's hearing and waits for the Senator as he's leaving. Her and her two friends want to be campaign volunteers. His top advisor (a hilarious Oliver Platt) hesitantly gets their information and by the time Bulworth arrives at his next stop they are already working as valets. His next meeting is with Hollywood insiders and that ends by the Senator chastising them for wanting so much money and making so much crap. He also calls them a bunch of Jews. Bulworth is having the time of his life but his aides are besides themselves. They go into serious crisis control and begin issuing statements about the Senator's poor mental health. Bulworth spots Nina and offers her and her friends a ride. Nina decides to take the Senator to a hip hop club. After they go through the metal detectors Nina takes off leaving Bulworth to wander around on his own. He smokes a joint, gets mistaken for George Hamilton by a bartender, and starts rapping. From this point on Beatty raps all of Bulworth's speeches. After Nina gets back her and Bulworth dance into the early morning hours when he realizes that he has to give a speech at a lunch. When a rumpled Bulworth shows up at the banquet and delivers a tirade about big oil, health insurance, and the media in a rap that he made up on the spot everyone thinks he's lost it. The raps are clever and often funny but the joke gets old quick. Beatty is brave to go all out for this role complete with hop hop clothes knowing that some people will find it an embarrassing move by an old white guy. This is the film's biggest problem. It is an uneven mix of political satire and a man's immersion into black culture that feels awkward and potentially offensive whenever the jokes don't pan out. Beatty throws a very questionable character into the mix as well. He is a homeless black man that magically appears at all of the Senator's campaign stops and mutters some gibberish to Bulworth. He's hilarious don't get me wrong but why is he here? The last act of the film is more of the same. Nina takes Bulworth to South Central where she hides him with her family. In South Central his eyes are opened to kids as young as 13 walking the streets with guns and selling drugs. Bulworth learns that they work for a neighborhood dealer named L.D. (Don Cheadle). When Bulworth confronts him he explains to the Senator that he is doing these kids a public service since no one else would take a chance on them and give them a job. He laments the lack of education in public schools and how they are underfunded and says that that is why so many kids are choosing an easy life of crime. Bulworth takes these words to heart as they appear in his next rap on his final campaign stop an interview on live T.V.. Valid points are being brought up throughout the film although the message is lost in their questionable delivery. The other distracting problem is the identity of the hit man. At several points we see a gloved hand spiking drinks or loosening balcony railings. When the real hit man is identified it doesn't add up. The ending is a major disappointment and an easy way out. Beatty even has the audacity to stage it like a political assassination of the 60's. This film has a lot that works however. Beatty and Berry have a terrific chemistry between them. This is in evidence during their hot dance in the club. Oliver Platt is so entertaining as Bulworth's top adviser who is losing his mind. Fed up and unable to cope he starts snorting coke and lashing out at the press and anyone else who questions the Senator's behavior. According to IMDB West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and writer/director James Toback (a very close Beatty friend) did a lot of uncredited rewrites to the script which was Oscar nominated. Bulworth is a great movie that just leaves a few too many loose ends and that let's the gimmick go on a little too long.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Bulworth - worth the price now even more than then
Added 12/13/2008
So, ever heard of someone who gets in trouble for saying the unpopular thing? What would happen if a politician told part of the truth many people did not want to hear? Outrageous satire of what may or may not be true in politics (you decide), but it's more true in 2008 than in the year this film was made!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
gutter language = gutter movie
Added 10/31/2008
I rented this when it was new. Liked it very much except for the language. It's about as bad as it gets. I've heard and used it all but the constant use of the 'MF' word ruined it. Liked it so well I would have bought it if the language wasn't so stupid.
1 out of 6 people found this helpful.
|
Warren Baetty = prick
Added 10/23/2008
Yes back in 2000 I rented this garbage it wasted an hour and half and 18 minutes of my life the only decent film was Dick Tracey anyway a very talentless prick.
0 out of 13 people found this helpful.
|
Great Movie
Added 10/3/2008
This is a great movie. I remember watching it many years ago and when I wanted to see it again and couldn't find it at blockbuster, I decided to buy it. The one thing that surpised about this movie, when watching it many years later, is how applicable all the policitcal issues are today, from the invasion Iraq to the profit driven health care system. Makes you wonder what progress we've had, if any at all...
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Very smart and funny but also very frustrating
Added 2/2/2009
Weeks away from his imminent re election Jay Billington Bulworth (Warren Beatty) hires an assassin to take him out. He has lost his faith in politics and can't bring himself to appear before his supporters and spout the same old speeches full of lies. Knowing that his time is limited Bulworth feels invincible and starts telling his version of the truth at his last few campaign stops. First up for the Senator is an all black church. He gets up to the pulpit reads the first sentence from his prepared speech and then goes hilariously off the script. What he says is both hilarious and shocking. One of the women in the crowd the beautiful Nina (Halle Berry) can't believe what she's hearing and waits for the Senator as he's leaving. Her and her two friends want to be campaign volunteers. His top advisor (a hilarious Oliver Platt) hesitantly gets their information and by the time Bulworth arrives at his next stop they are already working as valets. His next meeting is with Hollywood insiders and that ends by the Senator chastising them for wanting so much money and making so much crap. He also calls them a bunch of Jews. Bulworth is having the time of his life but his aides are besides themselves. They go into serious crisis control and begin issuing statements about the Senator's poor mental health. Bulworth spots Nina and offers her and her friends a ride. Nina decides to take the Senator to a hip hop club. After they go through the metal detectors Nina takes off leaving Bulworth to wander around on his own. He smokes a joint, gets mistaken for George Hamilton by a bartender, and starts rapping. From this point on Beatty raps all of Bulworth's speeches. After Nina gets back her and Bulworth dance into the early morning hours when he realizes that he has to give a speech at a lunch. When a rumpled Bulworth shows up at the banquet and delivers a tirade about big oil, health insurance, and the media in a rap that he made up on the spot everyone thinks he's lost it. The raps are clever and often funny but the joke gets old quick. Beatty is brave to go all out for this role complete with hop hop clothes knowing that some people will find it an embarrassing move by an old white guy. This is the film's biggest problem. It is an uneven mix of political satire and a man's immersion into black culture that feels awkward and potentially offensive whenever the jokes don't pan out. Beatty throws a very questionable character into the mix as well. He is a homeless black man that magically appears at all of the Senator's campaign stops and mutters some gibberish to Bulworth. He's hilarious don't get me wrong but why is he here? The last act of the film is more of the same. Nina takes Bulworth to South Central where she hides him with her family. In South Central his eyes are opened to kids as young as 13 walking the streets with guns and selling drugs. Bulworth learns that they work for a neighborhood dealer named L.D. (Don Cheadle). When Bulworth confronts him he explains to the Senator that he is doing these kids a public service since no one else would take a chance on them and give them a job. He laments the lack of education in public schools and how they are underfunded and says that that is why so many kids are choosing an easy life of crime. Bulworth takes these words to heart as they appear in his next rap on his final campaign stop an interview on live T.V.. Valid points are being brought up throughout the film although the message is lost in their questionable delivery. The other distracting problem is the identity of the hit man. At several points we see a gloved hand spiking drinks or loosening balcony railings. When the real hit man is identified it doesn't add up. The ending is a major disappointment and an easy way out. Beatty even has the audacity to stage it like a political assassination of the 60's. This film has a lot that works however. Beatty and Berry have a terrific chemistry between them. This is in evidence during their hot dance in the club. Oliver Platt is so entertaining as Bulworth's top adviser who is losing his mind. Fed up and unable to cope he starts snorting coke and lashing out at the press and anyone else who questions the Senator's behavior. According to IMDB West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin and writer/director James Toback (a very close Beatty friend) did a lot of uncredited rewrites to the script which was Oscar nominated. Bulworth is a great movie that just leaves a few too many loose ends and that let's the gimmick go on a little too long.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Bulworth - worth the price now even more than then
Added 12/13/2008
So, ever heard of someone who gets in trouble for saying the unpopular thing? What would happen if a politician told part of the truth many people did not want to hear? Outrageous satire of what may or may not be true in politics (you decide), but it's more true in 2008 than in the year this film was made!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
gutter language = gutter movie
Added 10/31/2008
I rented this when it was new. Liked it very much except for the language. It's about as bad as it gets. I've heard and used it all but the constant use of the 'MF' word ruined it. Liked it so well I would have bought it if the language wasn't so stupid.
1 out of 6 people found this helpful.
|
