Hoo boy. Any political biopic is going to be something that
invites division and bad jokes—and that doesn’t seem to be any different for
Adam McKay’s Vice. Something that a person that even those on his side would
admit isn’t the warmest and most outgoing fella in the world: Dick Cheney. In
all honesty, I’m surprised Oliver Stone didn’t just come out and make this
film, perhaps as a companion to his Dubya film from 2008. Still, this one
definitely is no less blunt or unflattering to the US political system as one
of Stone’s ‘presidential’ systems, so everything will hinge on whether that
sounds like a great time to you or not.
McKay doesn’t make too many pretences off the bat—the film
greets you with self-deprecating narrations and all sorts of postmodern things
that feel like Matt Parker might’ve had a hand in it. It teeters on that fine
line between funny and obnoxious, with fakeouts and cheesy parodies of Hollywood
clichés. For the most part I found it amusing, but it is just a little
self-indulgent—especially the post-credits scene.
That’s the slightly overdone presentation out of the way,
but the cast? First of all, we have Bruce Wayne if he decided dressing up as a
caped gimp was a waste of time and went into politics—yes, it’s Christian Bale
as Cheney. The makeup for the man in his older years is pretty amazing, and
you’ll forget it’s Bale—less so for his younger self, where it’s just a pudgier
Patrick Bateman you’re looking at. Though the film will want you to believe
that Cheney was only slightly less evil.
The rest of the cast is also a bit more mixed in their
appearance; Steve Carell matches Donald Rumsfeld surprisingly closely, though
you’re likely to see Brick Tamland in his sixties self. Sam Rockwell just
barely resembles Bush Junior, and they have, of all people, Tyler Perry as Powell.
Though in Perry’s case, he at least conveys Powell’s mannerisms even if he
matches him about as well as Mr. T would match Barack Obama.
Still, that’s just the superficial stuff—is the film good to
watch? The performances are certainly nicely done, and it’s damn thorough in
exploring Cheney’s rise to power from the Nixon era to, of course, the
tumultuous times of 9/11 onward. It doesn’t sugercoat what McKay wants to
convey—that Cheney was almost single-handedly responsible for much of the
current political strife in America and the world, from deregulation to FOX News.
It’s blunt, it’s uncompromising, and if that’s what you like, it’ll definitely work.
For me, it’s a little too thorough—trimming it down a little still would’ve got
the message across.
The film claims to be as true to fact as it can—and Cheney
isn’t the most public figure, so there is a little wiggle room. There’s of
course debate to go along with that; some claim that Dubya wasn’t really the
sap he came off as and wasn’t so much the puppet of ol’ Dick here as this film
and Stone’s would want to suggest. Either way, if nothing else, it definitely
makes you think, and while it has some shortcomings I can definitely see it working
for those that want to really consider how deep corruption goes in the seats of
power.
Vice isn’t going to be for those that want anything
uplifting—if anything, McKay pretty damn obviously wants to inspire the exact
opposite. But if politics is your thing, and you’re not too fussed about political
leanings…I’d say give it a try, but don’t stick around for the credits.
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