If there is any original joke left to be made about George W. Bush, I’d love to hear it. Throughout the span of his two-term presidency, however, it seems that Bush has been such a rich source of never-ending humor that the well has become dry. The problem is until Sarah Palin came along, that never stopped anyone from throwing that bucket down the well and coming up with the same muck. It got old, as did the never-ending harping on Bush’s never-ending list of failures. He f***ed up, and was unintentionally hilarious in the process. I get it.
The last person I expected to take the smarter path and show Bush sympathy was Oliver Stone.
It’s especially surprising because both the teaser poster and first trailer made it seem like the movie would be the same repetitive humorless dreck that would give us nothing we haven’t heard over the last eight years – a shallow bio-parody to remind us how silly and monstrous that darn hillbilly Bush was.
Well, based on this first glimpse of Oliver Stone’s upcoming biopic about the infamous George W. Bush, I think it’s safe to say it’s not going to be an unbiased presentation of the man. There seems to be a distinct accusational tone in the teaser, seemingly pointing the finger at us and saying: “This former college slacker frat boy is the guy you went on to elect as President.” Or at least some people did anyway. That aside, I’m not sure really how I feel about this. I still maintain what I said when I commented on the teaser poster: “It’s just so damn easy to make fun of the guy – and it’s been done so much now – that it’s getting old. I mean, I’m pretty sure a three year old could land a pretty good burn against the guy at this point. If all Stone’s W can offer is jokes that have been made before, then what’s really the point?”
Given that poor Oliver Stone has just started shooting W last month, and has been given a deadline of October to get it done, a) I feel for the guy, and b) it seems inevitable the marketing of this film has to start, like, now. So, sure enough, here’s the first teaser poster for the film. Interestingly enough, even though Stone and the studio were suggesting that W would be a serious drama a la Stone’s NIXON, this poster seems to spit in the face of that.
I’ll be honest, based on this poster, I’m not sure I want to see this anymore. Of course I will actually see it, because I’m just utterly fascinated by this project, in a kind of watching-a-train-wreck kind of way. It’s just that this poster seems to indicate it will really be a mocking farce, and yes the quotes are funny, but it’s just so damn easy to make fun of the guy – and it’s been done so much now – that it’s getting old. I mean, I’m pretty sure a three year old could land a pretty good burn against the guy at this point. If all Stone’s W can offer is jokes that have been made before, then what’s really the point?
That being said, I love the dictionary approach. If the poster had just been the letter, the pronunciation, the noun, and the “Improbable President” bit, I think I might be much more on board with this.
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