Vice movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Vice

RATING: R

LENGTH: 132 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL: At the beginning of the movie, the screen reads, “The following is a true story. Or as true as it can be given that Dick Cheney is known as one of the most secretive leaders in history. But we did our F’n best.”

Vice earned Christian Bale a Golden Globe award for Best Actor for his lead role as Vice President Dick Cheney. In his acceptance speech, he said that he was inspired by Satan in his characterization of his role as the Vice President.

Conservatives and anyone on the right will hate this movie and call it liberal propaganda and lies. Those on the left will praise it for being revelatory.

Vice It’s definitely political and divisive. If that sounds fun to you, have at it. If that sounds like a terrible waste of time and money, run.

My sincere hope is that Americans (and people in other countries) will be able to discern what is true in this movie and what is not.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored out of their minds.
Some bloody scenes.
Some brief scenes of torture.
Profanity, including F-bombs.

THEMES:

“How does a man go on to become who he is?” – narrator (Kurt) played by Jesse Plemons
Power
Ambition

THINGS I LIKED:

The make-up and aging techniques used on the characters were outstanding. Christian Bale’s transformation is especially impressive. He gained 45 pounds, shaved his head, bleached his eyebrows, and supposedly earned the look of Dick Cheney by eating a lot of pie. He and Dick Cheney actually share the same birthday!
The talented cast also includes Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Tyler Perry, and Alison Pill, among the names of people you would recognize. I was impressed with how many of the actors and actresses actually looked like the real people they portrayed. LisaGay Hamilton as Condoleezza Rice comes to mind.
Sam Rockwell’s portrayal of President George W. Bush was hilarious and disrespectful at the same time. He had to wear a prosthetic to make his lip look more like President Bush, as well as a fake nose. I thought he was fantastic in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
I thought the “sweet” ending with the rolling credits in the middle of the movie was pretty funny.
The fishing metaphor and the dinner menu scenes were clever.
There is a mention of Senator Joe Wilson and his wife was CIA. Their story was shared in a movie on NetFlix called Fair Game , another interesting, yet liberal portrayal of political history.
You’ll see some black-and-white footage of heart surgery, making a bold statement of Dick Cheney’s heart (or lack of one.) What’s particularly interesting about that is it’s actual footage of director Adam McKay who had a mild heart attack during post-production and he wanted to include his procedure in the movie!
It definitely felt like The Big Short, which makes sense because both films were written and directed by Adam McKay. He certainly has an interesting, creative way to present complicated finance and politics in an entertaining way.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It was hard to tell which direction writer/director Adam McKay really wanted to go: comedic farse or drama. Rumor has it that there was going to be a musical number in the movie, but he decided to delete it for the film to be taken more seriously.
You’ll probably want to read up on Unitary Executive Theory to see how accurate you think the writer/director unfolds this story.
The storytelling becomes rather choppy after the first half.
The target audience is definitely older, as anyone under 30 years old probably won’t even remember Dick Cheney as Vice President. Some viewers may get very confused with all of the political jargon.
It’s VERY liberal in its interpretation of the facts.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Beware the quiet man. For while others speak, he watches. And while others act, he plans. And when they finally rest…he strikes.” – This was an anonymous quote that was seen on the screen between scenes of the film.
“You have to remember that if you have power, people will always try to take it from you. ” – Lynn Cheney (Amy Adams)
“The world is as you find it and we have to deal with that reality.” – Dick Cheney (Christian Bale)

OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS YOU MIGHT ENJOY:

The Big Short