I saw the CNN blip that said this movie was surprisingly touching and it’s true.  “W.” is very sweet movie about a fictionalized George W. Bush.  Oliver Stone portrays W. as a good man with very little brains who got himself in way over his head when he became President.   Oh, and don’t forget the father complex.  Deep in my heart I wanted this character to win and I wanted him to accept his father’s love, but we all know the story and it’s not good for W.  I sorta felt that Oliver Stone was allowing himself and us, through viewing this film, to forgive President Bush for his shortcomings.  I came out of this movie feeling like our President needs a big hug and a “there-there, you did your best”.

As for the nitty gritty of the movie itself, Richard Dreyfuss is eerily great at playing Dick Cheney (give Dreyfuss the Oscar).  James Cromwell and Josh Brolin also give great performances as Bush Sr. and W.  I also like the performance and the scripting of Laura Bush.  Her character wholeheartedly accepts W. with all his flaws and she stands by him, throughout the story, with quiet feminine strength.  It is a beautiful little nugget of a love story.  As usual, there are the surreal dream scenes that serve as little cut-aways to time shift.  Also, there is the usual mix of fiction and real news footage that we come to expect from an Oliver Stone film.

Like Bush or hate him, this film was very enjoyable and I think it, also, would have made a great stage play.  If you are going to see it, I suggest that you go into the theater knowing full and well that this is a fictional dramatization and not the real W.  I highly recommend this movie 5/5