Review of Bulworth (1998) by Graham L — 31 Jul 2007

Tired and disillusioned Congressional candidate, Jay Bulworth (Beatty), subjects himself to sleep deprevation which in turn leads him to display unusual behaviour in public. Bizzarely, the public respond warmly to his more unorthodox opinions and he finds a new lease of life, aided in no small way by the beautiful Nina (Berry), but giving severe headaches to his personal assistant, Dennis Murphy (Platt). But the invigoration in his political career means that he must cancel what he calls the 'weekend scouting mission' and unknown to those around him, Bulworth is in a race against time to avoid political suicide.

Where "Primary Colors" fails, "Bulworth" hits the mark with it's outrageous satricial outlook on US politics. Senator Bulworth rounds on those who have lined his pockets for years such as the movie industry and insurance companies and speaks up the cause of the common man, and the black minority in particular. It's hardly subtle but when it's this funny, it has no need to be.

Beatty takes much of the credit, naturally. Not the most prolific actor, his performance is near-flawless and utterly convincing. But the casting is spot on throughout. Berry makes her big breathrough as the love interest (and she went on to thank Warren Beatty in her Oscar acceptance speech this year), Oliver Platt is in wonderful form as the conservative PA, Jack Warden and Paul Sorvina perform steadily in their limited roles and Don Cheadle notches up another commanding turn as local gangster, L.D..