REVIEW: VICE

4/5

Washington Vice.

132 Mins. Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Tyler Perry, Alison Pill, Jesse Plemons, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp, Naomi Watts & Sam Rockwell. Director: Adam McKay.

What a dick! How's this for a 'Big Short'? Taking a sheath out of the 'Darkest Hour' Best Actor book of Commissioner Gordon, Gary Oldman himself and his Oscar season winning Sir Winston Churchill, Batman, Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale whatever you want to call him (who is he?) moves 'Machinist' weight yet again. Donning the fat suit, 45 of his own gained lbs and neck rolls. Giving us more than the balding paunch of his last 'American Hustle', reuniting with the amazing Amy Adams perfect partner, going full Lady modern Macbeth in the White House. Now who holds the real 'Vice' here? Behind every powerful man is a woman. And as Dick Cheney is widely considered to be the most powerful, puppet pulling Vice President in American history, you can only imagine what she wields. But just like a Trump interruption to spoil the end of what looked like a nice decade, we all know powerful is not the same as popular. As the V.P. had a 'Forrest Gump' I.Q. low 13% approval, the kind that 'Vice' doesn't want to have splatted all over Rotten Tomatoes, everyone's go to 'go out or Netflix' recommend. But how can a film about such an abhorrent administration that waged war for their own wages more than the good of the nation be something people even want to see as entertainment? This writer went to a showing with Michelle Obama's 'Becoming' in his backpack...and not as a protest. Why make a film about this Dick (last one...I promise)? Well first of all this almost parody piece hides the scratching subterfuge of satire behind this fat suit. And it's all reported to us by 'Anchorman' and 'Step Brothers' (they should have had his magnify glass class for the 'Holmes and Watson' Christmas turkey) classic comedy gold director Adam McKay. Who has found himself a new dramedy niche with the cash slick grabbing Oscar nominated movie on the financial crash 'The Big Short', based on 'Moneyball' writer Michael Lewis' blistering book of insight. And leaving only the Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt (although he helps produce this, along with Ron Burgundy himself, Will Ferrell) Hollywood heartthrobs behind on this one, McKay seems to have found his own lane which no one can steer or veer him from. Take one of the worst world situations started from the state in the not so United States and offer humor to all the pathos. Just to show how f##### we really are with heart. Not for a quick buck, but to buck the trend that everything has to be so serious. Sometimes to shed light on a situation you have to make light of it, before finally making a real world implicating, deadly serious point that people can take home. Because after all the line between comedy and tragedy is thinner than that of Bale's Cheney hairline...or mine.

Extraordinary. That is what Bale's latest epic transformation is nothing short of. After starving himself more skeletal thinner than this writer for 'The Machinist'. Or losing that slick Bruce Wayne manor born muscle for 'American Hustle'. But all that looks like a mere food baby compared to this. As plodding down to the "I don't give a damn" of The Killers 'The Man' he looks like he just made a killing on a different type of throne. Christian is the cock of the walk and the talk of the talk. Bale is almost health, death-defying as the man behind Dubya in the "is it really him" (whether you're asking in regard to Bale or Cheney) trailer first reveal that to that Brandon Flowers heartland of Sin City of Las Vegas music almost plays out like a character introducing family situation comedy...I guess in some ways it sort of is. Almost akin to that genius, epic 20 minute long Adult Swim 80's theme tune parody to 'Too Many Cooks'...get it?! And the new tradition themes keep to the same McKay directing broth that he left us with 'Short' and it's mathematical, "this is the science bit, concentrate" explanations from Selena Gomez at a craps table and Margot Robbie in a bubble bath. Or 'Diana' Naomi Watts as a Fox News anchor and 'The Post's' hottest character actor of the moment Jesse Plemons serving as much more than a narrative device. How about some Shakespeare before...is that the credits already? This is a slick look at an oil baron who tried to play pretend he was all that with a comb over (this male patterned baldness is going to come quicker for me now). Until we saw his shotgun blunder buss out the press like he was treating his friends back like a shooting range. And there's plenty of buckshot loaded in this take down of a former CEO in presidential power and his whole army of an administration. Even if sometimes some of its debauched behaviour airs on the power corrupts, celebratory, 'Wolf Of Wall Street' cautionary tale side of things. But whatever side of the coin you choose as you flip between, Bale is always the real deal here. Pulling no punches for a man who had clout in dollar, but was as poor in mind as he was health. If you think Christian is praising even a man he thinks is great you're wrong. But if you think in a genius role he's also not showing any humanity in all its bewildering dimension to just another one of his fellow men then fool me twice.

Shame on them. Because just when you thought we couldn't get fooled again with this House of Frauds then look at how much this mirrors what we are going through now as the Donald quacks on his phone, like Twitter wasn't just for the birds. The only President as purile as he is turns out to be Kevin Spacey. But these guys come pretty close for a time were folks actually voted that they'd rather have Martin Sheen's fictional President in the 'West Wing' than the Bush they were hiding behind. And dead on over Granny's peach tea, Sam Rockwell's George Bush is a Josh Brolin 'W' rivalling, "most of our imports could from overseas" dumb dead on look and part that goes beyond an inspired impression you'd see in something like 'Saturday Night Live'. All whilst giving us the human touch we finally saw from the man this year at his father's funeral, along with handing out mints. And with another Academy Award nomination for last year's 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri' Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner, he could do the back-to-back double this season in playing absolutely abhorrent characters. Yeah...right! Hot damn! But how about the rest of the Oval Office. Like the Brick laugh of Steve Carell, who has since 'Foxcatcher' gone all Oscar serious with the double-header of this and the beautiful 'Beautiful Boy' with Timothee Chalamet. 'The Big Short' actor capturing that sneering Donald Rumsfeld look uncannily, almost as much as Rockwell's Bush and of course Bale's Dick. Not to mention the chameleonic Tyler Perry stealing his spare change scenes as Madea does Colin Powell (not literally), the one beating heart here. Even 'Wildlife' and 'Molly's Game' character actor vet Bill Camp is on solemnly swear hand as President Gerald Ford. Even though we don't get a Nixon (thank God) or Reegan. But through all this political and families back home drama, featuring 'Milk's' ever underrated Alison Pill looking for her rights and a brief appearance from Shea Whigham (whose daughter Giorgia right now is owning Season 2 of a 'Punisher' who needs to give her father's on-screen pops a visit). It's the 'Hustle' of Amy Adams' ever growing and hard worked formidable filmography featuring it's most divisive, defiant and definitive, powerhouse performance yet. As Bale and Adams partner up yet again as an 'American' power couple that make the Jay and Bey power couple of the Carter's administration look like shutting down the Louvre in Paris to make art was just finger paints. This is set to make the crowd go apes###! No matter how bulls### it all is. The con is back on America...you ready to do the hustle and dance to this tune? Thought not. Searingly funny. Searingly serious. Forget cufflinked sleeves. There's a moment we're Cheney's still heart is right there on the table. And f### almost! That pig sucker looks black. The opening line of 'Vice', this epic expose on the still secretive man based on an as true as they can get story says to that regard, "we did our f###### best"! If only the Vice and his President could have. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Big Short', 'W', 'The Front Runner'.