"Isn't that obvious?"On a dismal day in the nation's capitol, a distressed US politician calmly goes about plotting his own assassination. No there's no mistake as the person in question, California Senator Jay Bulworth, is decidedly suicidal. Overcome with despair amid perceived failures, he feels he's just being practical, wanting things to wrap up nicely for his family's sake and all (a lofty insurance policy having been taken out previously). Everything finally in place, an unburdened Senator Bulworth returns home for a routine campaign weekend where, now rid of obligations to party agendas and protocol, The Man can start telling it straight.
Obviously, not everyone's feeling the same vibe as the "new" congressman; evident after a speech bloated with some shamelessly 'frank' remarks stirs the ire of
several party loyalists. Lobbyists, campaign managers and groupies all do their best to spin-doctor what they percieve as flagrant political blunders, albeit lacking cooperation from their re-invented figurehead who's now apparently adopted a hip-hop mode of reaching voters. But the seemingly witless Jay Bulworth is as coherent as ever, now intimate with several of his remotest constituents (Halle Berry and her urban cohorts) and having the time of his life, all while remaining oblivious to any criticism--constructive or otherwise. But with his new found fulfillment in "keeping it real" comes the paranoia of his impending mortality, a quandary now seemingly no one can undo.Say what you will about Warren Beatty's projects (Dick Tracy???), Bulworth may be his life's crowning achievement. Probably too brazen as a 'funny ha-ha' type of film, the movie is none the less a laugh-out-loud-er brimming with attitude and crass improprieties, not to mention satire to rival Swift or Twain. Yet Beatty along with a not-so-ho-hum cast including Berry, Oliver Platt and Don Cheadle manage to balance the humor with a socio-political authenticity not often glanced through the big screen medium. More importantly--and very relevant now a decade later--the film provides a much needed forum for the too often missed trickle-down effect of bi-partisan politics in America today. (DVD BULWORTH)
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