Review of Lions for Lambs (2007) by Chads. — 31 Jan 2008

If N.W.A. co-founder Eazy-E was still alienating poor, black people in 2008, how would the Republican-come-lately address the Iraqi War? Prior to his untimely death, the gangsta rapper from Compton paid $2500 for a plate at the 1991 Republican Senators Inner Circle luncheon.

This piece of gallows trivia occupied my mind as Ernest(Michael Pena) and Arian(Derek Luke) argue in the affirmitive for a millitary conscription revival during a political science seminar. Statistics back up their assertion that high school seniors are wasting taxpayer's money by going to college.

If you're eighteen and can't locate Canada on a geographical map, the two Army volunteers assert that you should stop being a burden on the American public(by killing time at community college), and be of use to your country(and die).

Arian is black; purposely so, since it's no accident that his homonymic name when spoken, denotes that his skin color should be white. That's Arian with an "i", which could be interpreted as a critique of black people who affiliate themselves with the Republican party.

Arian argues that the poor and disadvantaged people(who hail from neighborhoods with subpar educational institutions) should do our fighting for us. To make the role-reversal complete, the students who argue against Ernest(as in "earnest"; "earnestly wrong-headed", an "earnestly wrong-headed Hispanic student") and Arian's designs on the impoverished class is predominantly white.

"Lions for Lambs" may treat these two students as if they were heroes; as men of valor; men who fought bravely for Uncle Sam, but in actuality, they're punished for insidiously advancing of the conservative agenda.

These two men are used to recruit their own kind into combat; the kind of people who don't live in houses with green lawns and white picket fences. The "i" in Arian's name refers to himself; as in "i" instead of "I".

If only the rest of "Lions for Lambs" was this thought-provoking. You'll either be bored, or bored to tears, whenever the movie cuts back to Meryl Streep(she's a reporter) and Tom Cruise(he's a congressman), whose dialogue about the Bush administration's mishandling of the ongoing war has a tell-me-something-I-don't know monotony to it.