I saw it in the theater back in 2008 and I've seen chunks of it again on cable. It has something I value greatly in movies--a high degree of re-watchability. I love it. Absolutely love it. Rocket science it ain't, entertaining it sure is.
Some might have thought it strange to make this movie while Bush was still in office, but, hell, why not strike while things are still fresh in everybody's consciousness? What's to be gained by waiting? Sure, history will judge us when we're dead. But what about now?
The movie's structure is pretty straightforward--one arc covering Bush's growth(?) from drunken frat-boy to president, intertwined with the other arc tracing his decision to go war in Iraq. It isn't a comedy, but it is...funny. Brolin and Stone's W. is charming, wounded, headstrong, optimistic, wrong about stuff. It's not a comedic performance exactly, but it's pleasantly compelling if not downright funny. One might even say nuanced, which is hard to detect at first blush, and probably hard to imagine, because, well, he's playing George fucking Bush.
Josh Brolin's performance is so smooth and assured that it's very easy to take for granted what a great job he did. And not just in the speech and mannerisms--things we're all familiar with from seeing the real Dubya in action for 8 years--but Brolin also conveys an essential Bush-ness in the scenes that depict what 43 was doing when we weren't around to see--the boozy swagger, the insecurity/fear/resentment of his powerful father, the new-found godliness, the straightforward and simplified views. Really an amazing performance, one that I think will grow in esteem as years go by (though I'm slinging praise at Brolin, I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you the supporting cast does a phenomenal job maintaining the right tone set by their fearless leader).
Anyway, don't listen to what anyone else tells you about this one. See it. In Stone's oevre, it's akin to Wall Street, in that it gets at a time and a place and way of seeing the world. Maybe I'm not saying it's Wall Street-good, but I am telling you this is no Any Given Sunday or Alexander.
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