'War' of the words
Mike Nichols' snappy, stiletto-sharp political comedy "Charlie Wilson's War" tells how three American loose cannons joined forces to do what the U.S. military couldn't do with a zillion real cannons: bring down the Soviet Union.
We meet East Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) during 1980 in a hot tub with naked women. That's before they climb into a limo and snort lines of coke.
Wilson's a Democrat, by the way. He appears to be Playboy's ideal politician, especially when his office comes equipped with a staff of Charlie's angels, feminine assistants offering up generous helpings of heaving cleavage to visitors.
Wilson's free-wheeling life takes a fateful turn when one of his favorite women, headstrong Houston socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), recruits him to help Afghan refugees in the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion.
A quick trip to Afghanistan -- where Soviet choppers, bullets and bombs obliterate defenseless populations -- converts Wilson to her cause. The modest $5 million in U.S. aid to Afghanistan swells to $10 million, and in quick order climbs to $1 billion thanks to Wilson.
"Charlie Wilson's War," based on George Crile's book, cruises quietly along like a gunship armed with intelligence and sophistication. Then Philip Seymour Hoffman shows up.
He plays an overweight, coiffure-challenged CIA agent named Gust Avrakotos, a hothead who disdains stupid supervisors and anyone else who gets in his way.
Avrakotos is so volatile, he becomes Nichols' narrative hand grenade. We wait with breathless anticipation for him to go off. When he does, quite frequently, this comedy explodes into anything-can-happen chaos.
It would be too bad if the public didn't see "Charlie Wilson's War" because the generic title suggests it could be an actual war movie, a subject out of current public favor. But give it a chance.
Not since "Catch-22" has Nichols made such a punchy political attack on the absurdities of government. Writer Aaron Sorkin supplies plenty of wit and breezy, sparkling dialogue.
"You ain't James Bond!" an exasperated Wilson snaps at Avrakotos.
"Well, you ain't no Thomas Jefferson!" Avrakotos replies.
"Charlie Wilson's War" employs much more than mere wordplay. Nichols masterminds an audacious piece of physical shtick that requires Avrakotos to enter and leave Wilson's office with comically increasing speed as news of a drug investigation (led by Rudolph Giuliani!) tightens around the congressman's neck like a noose.
None of this stops Wilson, Herring and Avrakotos from secretly financing and arming Afghan rebel forces -- ironically the same ones that later turn their weapons against the U.S. as the politics shift.
"Charlie Wilson's War" features a delightful, pre-"Enchanted" Amy Adams as Wilson's luminous secretary, and Emily Blunt as a full-fledged seductress, a presence almost too hot to run through a film projector.
Admittedly, it takes a while for us to accept Hanks as the overtly hedonistic Wilson. But as the congressman takes on his grand purpose, Hanks clicks into character and snuggles up to Roberts' strained Texas twang.
"Why does Congress say one thing and then do nothing?" Herring ponders.
"Tradition, mostly," Wilson replies.
You gotta love an honest political comedy. Or would that be an oxymoron?
"Charlie Wilson's War"
3½ stars out of four
Opens tonight
Tom Hanks as Charlie Wilson
Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gust Avrakotos
Written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the book by George Crile. Produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. Directed by Mike Nichols. A Universal Pictures release. Rated R (nudity, language, sexual situations, drug use) Running time: 97 minutes.