"Good Politics," Great Actors, Funny Scenes...and Sex

Its interesting to me how "Charlie Wilson's War" was assembled in a specific way to make sure that its generally grim geopolitical storyline was sold as top drawer entertainment.

It starts with Aaron Sorkin's script, which was good enough to attract Mike Nichols to direct, superstars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts to star(for the first time together), and recently Oscared Best Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman to join them and steal the show(getting nominated, more appropriately, I suppose, for Best Supporting Actor, this time.)

Roberts is rather shifted off to almost a cameo(but with several scenes) and it falls to Hanks and Hoffman to make us laugh and laugh hard, in scenes apart(Hoffman tearing into the CIA boss who betrayed him --"Excuse me, what the f--k?" ) and together(their first hilarious meeting in Hanks' office; their contentious dinner with an Israeli spy ("I don't like this guy," he tells Hanks of Hoffman; Hanks replies "You are not a-lone.")

As if knowing that their movie is knee-deep in technical jargon and riddled with the true horrors of war(children picking up bombs as toys...and losing their hands), the movie makes the final daring move to couch almost everything in: sex.

Thus, we meet Hanks' Congressman Charlie Wilson in a hot tub with a Playboy cover model and some strippers(Hanks does a little nudity to honor the ladies who do); prim religious Emily Blunt is revealed behind closed doors as a total hottie ready to do Hanks right now; and Hanks is surrounded by a hand-picked selection of hot female staffers he calls "Charlie's Angels"(about whom one herself notes: "Charlie says anyone can be taught how to type, but you can't grow a set of tits.")

The movie deflects any charges of sexism here by saying: get real. grow up. Men in power get sex, women want to give it to them freely, and some of the women are in power(thus superrich married Julia Roberts pitches Hanks on a political money move only after having sex with him first...while partygoers revel downstairs.) Even the big-bellied Hoffman makes a sexual pass at Roberts, but you get the feelling he's so smart and powerful(at his level) that sometimes that pass has worked for him. Roberts is not offended, and takes it in stride.

Looking back from the horrorshow of modern-day politics, Charlie Wilson's War(made in 2007 but SET in 1980), shows us how "good politics" can actually get things done, even if the people doing it are arrogant and aware of their power. Charlie Wilson's War makes this point: some of the biggest power these people have is the power to GRANT AND SPEND MONEY. This makes low-paid Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson a God among men -- he is one of a handful of people who can vote for millions (billions) to be spent somewhere.

And in this case --in a mark of total screenwriting savvy -- that expenditure is told to us time and time again: Charlie wants enough money spent -- "to shoot down the helicopters, to shoot down the helicopters." Russian helicopters. By Afghan (undeclared) allies of the US.

I will leave it to the geopolitical experts among us to gauge if shooting down the helicopters was the right thing to do or not; the movie makes the case that at the time, it seemed to be(and then trotted out Hoffman with his "fable" of one good thing leading to a bad leading to a good.)

No matter. Great stars(and Hanks getting to play sexy, and doing it.) Great comedy lines. Great beauties.

Good movie.