'Charlie Wilson's' Wake-Up

Questionable retelling of historical/political events + Tom Hanks = decent holiday movie

If one had asked me, I would have said that this movie made an odd choice for a Christmas holiday movie. However, if anyone can do it, it is Tom Hanks (I will even take him as Robert Langdon, if reluctantly). For me, the topic is what was most unusual for holiday fare; this type of movie is usually reserved for January, when the heavier, more Oscar-groomed fare is trotted out. Admittedly, though, we need to be shown this kind of thing. After watching the movie, I started to wonder what other world events I should know about; what other remarkable stories have fallen out of the national consciousness. We were certainly not taught about the incidents that were depicted here in school.

It is a little hard at this time to feel like Russia was ever a threat to the safety of the Free World. After all, I was barely conscious of the larger world when the Berlin Wall fell, so the anxiety of having these events be 'current' is pretty alien to me. That doesn't lessen the fact that there are valuable lessons to be gleaned from the outcome in Afghanistan, given our involvement in Iraq these days. The end of the movie pretty much spells this out, although some of my companions arrived at the conclusion before the narrative did (perhaps they are either more worldly or clever than I am). In any case, I can't dismiss this biopic, no matter how much sugar the lesson is coated with (I'm thinking Julia Roberts here).

I don't think I will turn down a chance to see Amy Adams from now on, but I think that Julia Roberts' post could have been ably filled by someone else. Sure, she has a 'presence', but for me, that's all she amounted too. Though her involvement in the project probably was the clincher for a fair amount of funding, so I am not complaining too loudly.

I was pretty astounded by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's performance. I tend to underrate him because of his physical appearance and the annoying tone of his voice, but every now and then, he astounds me (and no, I have not seen Capote, although I should at some point, I suppose). I believed his bluff, blustery character very much, and even enjoyed him. I was particularly amused with his stunts regarding his superiors, although to actually work with the guy was likely pretty difficult.

All in all, I liked the movie and am content that I went to see it, but I am not sure that I will watch it again for some time, if ever.