Mike Nichols delivers one of the most unabashedly enjoyable political films in Charlie Wilson's War, a batty and utterly hilarious reading of the covert war waged by Texas senator Charlie Wilson against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Using his general charm and cunning skills at manipulating the system, the debaucherous an mostly anonymous senator wrangled government financing upward of $500 million to successfully arm and fund the Afghanistan resistance forces to fight back the Russians. The future consequences of this course of action is alluded to briefly with a few bits of ominous foreshadowing, but mostly Nichols and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin settle for a "less is more" approach that highlights the dark wit of the story rather than any sort of speechy political agenda.And while that's a welcome and enjoyable strategy, it's also one of the film's mildly undoing elements. The story lacks the gravitas you'd want from such a serious historical moment and much of the more specific details of Charlie's coercion get swept up in an overly montage friendly finale that ends with an anticlimactic whimper of a send off. Stll, there is no underestimating how flawless many of the scenes here are and how wonderfully acerbic the dialogue can be. Tom Hanks gives a great, self-consciously sleazy performance as the gluttonous Wilson; Julia Roberts is alluring and sedate as a Texas socialite with a passion for the cause and the bank account to finance its public promotion; and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a devilish scene stealer as a gruff CIA agent with no fear of voicing his opinions. Together this trio, and Sorkin's winning script transform the film from a flighty political farce into something almost special, and certainly worthwhile.
Grade: B+
