Charlie Wilson's War

Based on a true story, Charlie Wilson's War is the best movie I have seen in a long time. It stars Tom Hanks as Congressman Charlie Wilson, Julia Roberts as Texas socialite Joanne Herring, and a nearly unrecognisable Philip Seymour Hoffman as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos. Directed by Mike Nichols, the screenplay crackles with Aaron Sorkin's dialog. I have long been a fan of Sorkin's work; his credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The West Wing, and the gone but very much not forgotten Sports Night.

Charlie Wilson's War opens with the Congressman receiving a medal for his work in Afghanistan. Tom Hanks is truly a great actor, because here he manages to look pleased and disappointed at the same time. I was thinking that he was upset because the ceremony was being held in front of only a couple of hundred people at some military base, but that's not the reason. We find out at the end of the movie.

The rest of the movie is told in flashback. It tells the story of Wilson's involvement in the U.S.'s covert operations in Afghanistan in the 1980's, and how he literally changed the course of history. This is not some somber documentary, however. The movie is funny as hell, drops the f-bomb like candy, and has some nudity and drug references. So don't be an idiot and take your 8-year old child to see it like the people sitting in front of me.

Charlie Wilson had life on Capitol Hill figured out. He had a bevy of beautiful assistants who answer to the name "jailbait," he attended hot tubbing parties with sleazy promoters where drugs, booze, and strippers were plentiful, and gave and dispensed favors right and left. Tom Hanks plays his playboy role for all it's worth but does not chew the scenery like so many other actors would do. He plays it wry, sarcastic, and amused. Perfect. When called upon to be awed and appalled (such as when visiting an Afghan refugee camp), he hits those notes perfectly as well.


While hot tubbing with said strippers, he sees Dan Rather on TV wearing a turban while visiting an Afghan refugee camp. He figures that had to be important. Shortly after that, he receives a call from Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), who wants to eradicate the Godless Soviets from Afghanistan. She has an agenda, like everyone else in the movie (and in the real world), but she's intelligent, knowledgeable, and she brings Charlie to the realization that he can use his contacts in Congress to do something good. Roberts plays her role perfectly as well.

I'm not going to detail the entire plot of the movie because I don't want to ruin it for you. Go see it. I give the movie a great big A