W- Who is He?

We went to see W last night. It was much different than I thought it was going to be. With all the flubs and misstatements that President Bush has made over the years, I anticipated a lot more making fun of him and his less than perfect ways. (Anyone who watches David Letterman is reminded nightly of just how imperfect he is, as the clip below shows.)




To me, the film was a look at the man, a man who lacked direction and purpose in his life, and a man who sought the approval and acceptance of his father but never received it. Without this acceptance, he eventually turned to God, with whom he apparently not only found acceptance, but also gained what he believed was a divinely inspired purpose for his life. Even though he had this new direction for his life, the group of advisors surrounding him (each with his own agenda) and his own inability to effectively manage them led to a less than stellar performance while in office.

I expected a film that would be mean-spirited, poking fun and taking cheap shots, but that is not what I saw. While it is hard to know exactly how much of the story portrayed is true, I thought it was presented in a thoughtful and entertaining way.