W

Yesterday, I met Condorblue at the theater and we saw W.  It was not quite what either of us expected.  It was a bit surreal, broadly comic, almost slapstick, in spots, but almost sad in others. W is depicted as grossly envious of his father's favorite son, Jeb, and filled with anger at and competition with his famous father.  They poke some big fun at his hideously mangled English, making sure to include a number of his most famous screw-ups ("Is our children learning?")

The actress who plays Condoleeza is basically a celebrity impersonator, grimacing painfully every time she's on camera, and the guy who plays Colin Powell appears to have his cheeks stuffed with cotton balls (but Powell comes off as a thoughtful and admirable character, which I think has been verified by his recent remarks.)  The music was all over the place, sometimes comical (imagine "Robin Hood" blasting in the background as W in boots and jeans lopes through a pasture in Crawford, followed by an army of toadies in thousand dollar suits, slapping at mosquitoes and tripping over cowpies as they struggle to follow him) and sometimes heartrending (as the Shrub's agonized parents watch helplessly on TV as he digs himself ever deeper into the war that they know will be the undoing of him.)

It was an oddly fascinating piece of filmmaking.  Check it out.