It's 1996. Californian Democratic Senator Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) is worn out and cracking up. His politics has been drifting right. He suffered a large lost shorting pork bellies. He gets $10 million in life insurance to be paid to his 17 year old daughter. He hires a hit-man to kill him. When the hit doesn't happen as expected, he starts acting strange. His off-the-cuff speech at a black church attracts Nina (Halle Berry). His chief of staff Dennis Murphy (Oliver Platt) is besides himself while C-SPAN is filming a special on the senator. As his truth raps gain media traction, he tries desperately to cancel his assassination.
I like the idea a lot better than the actual execution. Firstly, I don't find this that funny. I don't think I actually laughed. A few things irk me the wrong way. I find Warren Beatty a bit creepy in this role. He's unbalanced and I have a difficult time fully embracing him. It's watching an old white guy trying to act black. It may be funny for a second but it's terribly awkward. The movie needs to find its heart and it seems to be his daughter. He's essentially doing the assassination to give to his daughter but she's never on the screen. The movie needs to start with him and her having an emotional scene. It needs to anchor the whole movie and that is the missing piece. She is his heart.
Murphy is too slow to catch on. He needs to be on the ball quicker. He does say that Bulworth needs to tell him what the play is. However, he should be smart enough to come up with a play himself and so much more. He could be a great insightful character if he's written smarter. Not to mention the couple of stereotypical black girls in the posse. The high-minded political talk is also mind-numbing. There are moments that I like and I want the movie to go a different way sometimes. This is a movie where I love the concept but the execution isn't as much fun as I hope.
I like the idea a lot better than the actual execution. Firstly, I don't find this that funny. I don't think I actually laughed. A few things irk me the wrong way. I find Warren Beatty a bit creepy in this role. He's unbalanced and I have a difficult time fully embracing him. It's watching an old white guy trying to act black. It may be funny for a second but it's terribly awkward. The movie needs to find its heart and it seems to be his daughter. He's essentially doing the assassination to give to his daughter but she's never on the screen. The movie needs to start with him and her having an emotional scene. It needs to anchor the whole movie and that is the missing piece. She is his heart.
Murphy is too slow to catch on. He needs to be on the ball quicker. He does say that Bulworth needs to tell him what the play is. However, he should be smart enough to come up with a play himself and so much more. He could be a great insightful character if he's written smarter. Not to mention the couple of stereotypical black girls in the posse. The high-minded political talk is also mind-numbing. There are moments that I like and I want the movie to go a different way sometimes. This is a movie where I love the concept but the execution isn't as much fun as I hope.