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Bulworth

Bulworth (1998)

May. 15,1998
|
6.8
|
R
| Drama Comedy Thriller Crime

A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.

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Reviews

Acensbart
1998/05/15

Excellent but underrated film

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Intcatinfo
1998/05/16

A Masterpiece!

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Humaira Grant
1998/05/17

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

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Bea Swanson
1998/05/18

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

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mshavzin
1998/05/19

That is seriously messed up. I had no idea that cheating on your spouse was such a positive thing, as long as your spouse is white, and the person you cheat with is black. Not to mention the tired old nonsense about how Insurance companies are making healthcare expensive and blah, blah, blah…..look at how absurdly expensive healthcare has become now that the government has put their fat lazy fingers into it. My premiums have tripled, And I no longer can go to see a decent doctor, or go somewhere like Mayo Clinic, but I have to go to a dirty, sleazy downtown hospital where the nurses act like doctors. Thanks for NOTHING Obama. What a load of crap. The funny thing is, this movie seemed cool to me when I saw it as a young teenager, because I was still a kid, and had no idea how idiotic the whole socialist program was, and I was too young to be insulted as a white woman because I was still young enough to have some white guilt.

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Predrag
1998/05/20

A politician has nothing left to lose.. so why not speak the truth? Warren Beatty's Senator Jay Bulworth lays down the smack: the reason the working man (in this movie, the working class is cleverly disguised as hip-hop mavens) doesn't have a voice, is he doesn't have the sway or monetary bullocks to *buy* a voice. Words aren't worth a penny unless you're worth billions. And of course, from the first instant, this divine fool's failure is certain and imminent: Big Business, what with its grimy fingers perpetually immersed in the U.S. Government's proverbial tub of crunchy Jif, would never allow a politician like Bulworth to succeed, at the risk of the working class' newfound capacity to leech the power from the insurance companies and tire manufacturers.Beneath the sometimes dark comedy, Bulworth has a lot of insightful and painful comments to may about our often hypocritical and ineffectual government. These observations are made satirically, but effectively. This is not a heavy-handed work. One thing that hampered Bulworth at the box-office was its portrayal of the man in the black community. People didn't get it. They were offended, especially many liberal white people. Beatty was in no way making fun of African-Americans by showing a very streetwise group. His point, which I thought was fairly obvious, was that many people will behave in an antisocial way in a society that is largely indifferent and often hostile towards them. I think that's almost a no-brainer. Bulworth is that rare politician who has soul. I agree that Warren Beaty's rapping was sub par, but who cares? "Bulworth" makes a powerful statement that in order to transcend problems of crime, poverty, racism, and political corruption we are going to have to take a cold hard look at who we really are and what is really happening around us. Accepting other people particularly from different racial and economic backgrounds has to be more than just an insincere speech act. It must be an act of good will that is grounded in practical reality.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

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Michael_Elliott
1998/05/21

Bulworth (1998) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Warren Beatty wrote, produced, directed and stars in this political satire about Sentaor Bulworth who days before the election puts a hit out on his own life due to his depression. He eventually has a mental breakdown and goes on a round of interviews where he decides to tell the truth about America and politics. BULWORTH was pretty controversial when it was first released and it seemed like the studio didn't want anyone to know it was out but I remember feeling it was an incredibly fresh and rather honest movie. Seeing it all these years later it's rather amazing to see how relevant it remains in both its message and look at politics. I think you have to give Beatty all the credit in the world for doing a film like this because you know so many people would be offended by it. It is rather strange to see so many people getting upset over a movie so can you imagine the outrage if a Senator really did do this stuff? The film certainly works because Beatty's performance is just so great and believable. Seeing someone like Beatty rap, dress gangster and being put in all of these situations is just downright hilarious. The scenes inside the black church where he talks honestly about everything from liquor to O.J. Simpson is just priceless but so are various other rants that he goes on. People get up in arms about what's being said but if you actually listen to it the film has a very good message. The supporting players are just as good as Oliver Platt, Halle Berry, Sean Astin, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino and Jack Warden all deliver fine performances. The screenplay certainly hits on all the topics it wants to speak on, although the one flaw is that the film does drag on a bit and some things begin to be repeated. Still, BULWORTH is a very sharp and very funny look at politics and Beatty really does give it his all.

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LeonLouisRicci
1998/05/22

An impossible feat to pull off, this film is remarkable in its audacious use of Rap rhythms and in your face farce that is a wonder to behold. There is literally nothing like this in moviedom. An over the top take on class war and politics that is amazingly fresh. You would hardly think that Warren Beatty as a depressed suicidal Senator having a nervous breakdown and suffering from sleep deprivation, taking on the ridiculous persona of an inner-city youth and parading it in front of the National News Media, could work as a piercing political satire. But it does, and it is a devastating delivery of an unbridled, out of the box, stream of consciousness conviction of a world gone mad.This is probably too pretentious and pandering for anyone but the far left to tolerate. However, even years later it is timeless, and you cannot deny that it is a mind-numbing movie that is entertaining and one must wonder, just how they made it happen. But here it is.

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