Charlie Wilson's War

Actors are well known for their special skills in acting. However, sometimes these actors who are acting try to overact and think they can become someone else, accent and all. Think about Kevin Costner in Thirteen Days when he turned into someone from Bah-stin (Boston). The accent was horrible and very distracting. Unfortunately, we had a bit of this in Charlie Wilson's War. Not only were we subject to it with Tom Hanks, but also the ill-looking Julie Roberts.

Charlie Wilson's War is a new release (which I got from Netflix with no delays!!!) and it is a true story. Charlie Wilson was a Congressman from Texas who had a taste for booze, drugs, and naked women, though I challenge you to find a man who doesn't agree with the latter.

While waiting in his office for a meeting, a man asks the secretary why everyone working in the office is a young attractive woman. The secretary responds, "Congressman Wilson says that you can teach a girl to type, but you can't teach her how to grow a great pair of tits." My wife even thought that was pretty funny!

The premise of the movie is that Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) meets with Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), a rich, politically active socialite, kind of like Paris Hilton, but smart. She requests that Congressman Wilson increase covert funding to the Afghan rebels fighting against the Soviet invaders.

After a visit to Afghanistan and a meeting with CIA agent, the loud-foul-mouthed Gust Avrakotos, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Wilson gets the funding he needs to buy the weapons that successfully help the Afghan's drive the Soviet's out of the country. Hoffman did an awesome job with this character. The dialog with Hoffman and Hanks is hilarious. It is contentious, condescending, and sarcastic, all at once.

The movie also stars Amy Adams (Enchanted), veteran actor Ned Beatty, and slew of hot young ladies that Wilson called his Charlie's Angels.

The movie is Rated R for potty-mouth, some nudity, though it's all in the first 4 minutes of the movie, violence, graphic imagery of children who had their arms blown off my bombs, and some sexual situations. It is only about an hour and a half long, which was good because I was pretty darn tired last night. I don't think I could have made it through 30 more minutes of a movie.

I gave this movie 3 stars. I found the historical aspect of the movie interesting. It was definitely funny to see Tom Hanks as a misogynistic jerk. Julie Roberts looks elderly and ill. Perhaps she is. I used to think she was nice looking. I guess starting next year I can admire her 17 year old niece Emma (who will be 18 on February 10th).

The fake southern accents were a bit annoying. Outside of PSH's character, I thought that the other characters were a little weak, though I thought the dialog was funny. I think this movie will be hit or miss with people.