The tag line for Charlie Wilson’s War – "A stiff drink. A little mascara. A lot of nerve " – describes this political comedy to a T. The film is based on the real life of Charles Wilson, who was congressman of the Houston, Texas area in the 1980s. Within the first ten minutes of the film, we learn that Charlie was a boozer, a cohort of druggies in a Jacuzzi, and a man who bowed to the wishes of Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), the high-society woman he often bedded.
Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks
While Charlie's job allows him to enjoy life most of the time, Joanne is clearly using him – or letting him use her – to get what she wants. During this particular period, she's concerned about the invasion of Russia into Afghanistan.
Even when Charlie slips out of the limo and the limelight back into his Washington D. C. office, Joanne is only a phone call away. Although there might be some young stud in bed next to her, she never lets on to Charlie that he's not her only one and barrages him with one request after another. But as George Crile's book (upon which the movie is based) reveals, Charlie could not only waddle naked across a room full of people, he possessed a perceptive political mind, a deep sense of patriotism and a compassion for the underdog. All which fit right in with Joanne's plan.
Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman
She insists Charlie get involved in her anti-communist agenda and in helping the Afghans. Although he serves in several congressional committees, Charlie hits some closed doors with his requests until C.I.A. agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman) emerges to save the day. Gust gets a kick out of Charlie's all-female congressional staff that looks like something out of Playboy. But he also enjoys Charlie's lackadaisical attitude and his unique way of getting things done.
While I'm always interested in movies based on true stories, several things hampered my total enjoyment of Charlie Wilson’s War. First was the casting. Hanks portrays his characters to the fullest, but anyone who had not heard about Charlie Wilson, would suspect he was over the top. I found out later this was not the case, and that Hanks' performance was spot on to Wilson's real life.
Hanks must have sensed this, too, as he went for the role right away. “We took one look at the book and pounced on it,” said Hanks. “It read like a house on fire. And like every other American, I thought it was a great thing that this ragtag group of Afghans defeated the Russian Army. I thought it was a miracle and it took a long time; what a brave bunch of patriots they were. I had no idea about the covert aspects, or that the money was coming in from the United States and other countries to arm them—money out of our own Congress, signed off by the White House.”
I had never heard of Joanne Herring but Julia Roberts just didn't seem the one to play this woman. I felt no chemistry between her and Hanks. She never came across like a real character to me. I always felt a big smirk or one of Roberts' enormous laughs was just around the corner of every scene in which she appeared.
Hoffman, as usual, makes his role his own. When Gust throws his weight around Congress constantly demanding more money for the "cause," we believe it.
It's interesting to learn from research that Charlie, Joanne and Gust traveled the world to form an unlikely alliance among Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, lawmakers and a belly dancer. Through their efforts over the nine-year course of the occupation of Afghanistan, United States funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually, and the Red Army subsequently retreated from Afghanistan. It really makes you wonder how those successes seem so lost in the shadows today.
Mike Nichols (Closer, The Birdcage) directs the movie with a gloved hand; he seems to concentrate on the comedy aspects of the story while making the international scenes, although shot on location, seem less authentic.
That aside, anyone who likes Hoffman, Hanks, or movies based on true stories, will probably enjoy Charlie Wilson's War – and finding out what went on just outside the oval office in the 1980s.
Photo credits: Francois Duhamel/Universal Studios
