Bulworth (1998) Poster

(1998)

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8/10
Come on, let me hear that dirty word - SOCIALISM!
PredragReviews13 June 2016
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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8/10
In Your Face Farce
LeonLouisRicci6 October 2012
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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7/10
Not Just A Pretty Face
marcosaguado30 December 2004
You have to hand it to Warren Beatty, he redefines the term "maverick". He could be, like many of his contemporaries, taking it easy. Instead, "Bullworth". One of the most outrageously funny satires I've seen in a long time. Satire? Somebody asked me. Well yes, satire. A realistic, daring, clearheaded, masterful satire. We live in satirical times, we have no choice in the matter. It takes an artist of Beatty's caliber to turns things around and makes us laugh and shiver at this mess of our own making. After seeing "Bullworth" I felt compelled to revisit some of Beatty's earlier work as an actor or producer or director. From "Mickey One" to "Reds" passing through "Bonnie And Clyde" and "Shampoo" not to mention "Heaven Can Wait" Mr. Beatty's legacy is one of amazing consistency. As I smiled enjoying his funny portrayal in "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" with Vivien Leigh, I thought: that beautiful man is not just a pretty face.
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Brilliant Warren Beatty Performance Overlooked by Oscar
drednm1 January 2006
In BULWORTH Warren Beatty gives one of his funniest and most outrageous performances. This sharp political satire is even more timely now than it was in 1998. This is a marvelously subversive movie on several fronts: politics, race, economics, Hollywood itself! Beatty stars as a fading senator from California who is so burned out he arranges for a large insurance policy and then hires a hit man. He's at the end of his rope personally and professionally. He's losing in a primary election to a young gun and has nothing left in his life. After days without sleep or eating he is dragged off to a rally at a Black church. He starts to read his "usual" speech but almost in a state of delirium he starts answering questions HONESTLY. He enrages the Black congregation with his brutal answers but somehow feels buoyant. Outside the church as the mobs surround him he runs into Halle Berry and her friends and they all take off in the limo.

This starts a voyage of discovery for Beatty. Of course at this point Beatty is also running from the hit man. His new honesty unleashes a desire to live. They arrive at a Black hip-hop club where Beatty drinks, smokes pot, and is transformed by the loud urban rap music. The dance scene with Beatty and Berry is remarkable.

Next stop is a speech at a fancy Hollywood hotel filled with film executives. Beatty makes many comments of how Jews run Hollywood, becomes rich, but turn out a crappy product. Next comes a debate with his political opponent, and finally an interview. The new Beatty parrots back much of what he has heard from poor Blacks but of course he has always known the truth. His sense of freedom from the back-room politics of Washington is exhilarating and his new voice reaches the masses of disenfranchised voters. His comments about the media and how it is controlled by corporate America is more apt now (during the Bush administration) than ever before.

Beatty is brilliant, and this ranks as one of his very best performances. Berry is actually good as well in her pre-movie star mode when she still bothered to act. Oliver Platt scores as the political aide. Paul Sorvino is a lobbyist for the insurance industry.

Jack Warden, Helen Martin, Don Cheadle, Christine Baranski, Florence Stanley, Laurie Metcalf, Sean Astin, Isaiah Washington, Nora Dunn, Joshua Malina, William Baldwin, Hart Bochner, Armelia McQueen, and Jackie Gayle co-star.

Filled with humor, political insights, and top-notch performances. This acid look at politics in Amerca is more timely now than ever. Bravo to Warren Beatty!
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6/10
Beatty Works Hard, But "Bulworth" Only Half Lands
evanston_dad22 June 2010
"Bulworth" is another high-profile political satire that came out in 1998 that should have been on fire due to its pedigree and instead comes off as rather limp.

Warren Beatty plays an end-of-his-rope politician who goes a little off his rocker and begins to speak the truth to the people, often by rapping it to them hip-hop fashion. The joke is that the people love it, responding warmly to a politician who's willing to cut through the bullsh*t and tell it like it is.

The film is creative and has an interesting conceit, but it just doesn't work in that vague way that films sometimes don't and that's hard to put a finger on. Beatty's pretty good, but the whole film feels like it's trying too hard to be an art-house classic, and the tone doesn't fit the personalities of the artists associated with it.

Grade: B-
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7/10
Sort of predicted Trump and Bernie
kmogg5695 February 2021
Doesn't date well but fascinating to see how the populist straight talking message can be applied to both the left and the right. Patrick Caddell who collaborated with Beatty on this and served as a political consultant to Carter originally, took his anti establishment views and ultimately switched allegiances to the Bannon wing of the Trump supporters. The evening after his first Consultation with Trump was when Trump came out swinging and declared the media the enemy. Art and life are strange.
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9/10
Contemporary classic!
Derek23710 August 2005
Bulworth was released quite a few years ago, but it is still (if not more) relevant today. It merges two "cultures," one being the rich white class culture, and the other being the urban lower class culture, and ends up with many universal ideals. The story's hero is Jay Billington Bulworth, portrayed brilliantly by Warren Beatty. I think some people have a problem with the fact that he is...well, more or less insane, but that is possibly the most important thing about the character. You could call him insane, but if you look at it more romantically, perhaps he is "posessed" by the "spirit" of social justice, a mere vessel for the truths that need to be told. He is a character unaware of the significance in what he is saying. To him, if he's not completely insane, he's simply a man who broke down and decided to tell it like it is (ala Peter Finch in Network, but with rapping and rhyming). There's something actually kind of mystical about all this.

Since it would be way too preachy if that's all there was to the story, there's some other aspects that make for an entertaining viewing. Bulworth, in his depression and anxiety, hired a hit-man to "off" him so his family could collect the life insurance. Once his speeches and raps become a success, this is obviously a big problem since he wants to live again ("You should never make life and death situations when feeling suicidal"). There is a love interest with a girl named Nina, played by the lovely Halle Berry. You don't know if you can trust her, and her intentions are unclear.

There is also a fine supporting role by Don Cheadle, who plays a "business man" who uses young children to sell drugs. His character does bring up some valid points, and we're forced to really put ourselves in his shoes. He's doing what he feels is right, but ultimately, the ends don't justify his means.

With a movie that has so much going on, it would probably be difficult for the filmmakers to figure out a way to wrap everything up, right? Unfortunately, yes. Bulworth ends pretty abruptly and leaves with the film's message being half-assedly shouted at the screen. The last act is a huge flaw in an otherwise perfect movie.

Bulworth is a hilarious comedy and it heralds something truly special and unique. It is not a film to be taken for granted or forgotten. It's a quintessential example of a 'contemporary classic' for our generation. I have no doubt that over the next decade or so, people will want to revisit it and examine the politics and the cultures; it should be studied in classrooms, it should be valued. I loved Bulworth!

My rating: 9/10
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6/10
Simply A Very Odd Film
ccthemovieman-121 April 2006
I wasn't exactly sure how to rate this film, and I bet others weren't either. It's difficult to say but fascinating to watch. Some scenes are terrific, others just terrible trash.

Halle Berry plays anything but a likable lead, nor are the characters people you can root for, except for Oliver Platt in the first half of the film. Then he totally changes.

Nonetheless, this is Warren Beatty's film, anyway. He dominates it and is what makes the movie fun. Knowing him and knowing this was political, I expected big-time Liberal propaganda but didn't find any heavy-handedness there.

For a comedy, there are way, way too many f-words, even in the "music," if you want to call it that. Despite that, the film has some charm, if it's possible to use that word in a film this profane. Beatty's rap lyrics were genuinely funny, no matter what your political persuasion might happen to be. An odd film.
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8/10
The most daring political satire ever made.
Curtin-315 February 2000
I cannot recommend 'Bulworth' highly enough. Sure, I've seen lots of worthy political satires. 'The Candidate', 'Wag the Dog', 'Bob Roberts', and others. But this is the finest example ever made. Warren Beatty should be very proud of this masterpiece. Not only for the guts it took to so brazenly confront the modern political process (and how it affects race relations, the film industry, education, medicine, and so on) but also for the fact that he wrote it, produced it, directed it, and starred in it. Any one of those jobs can be a supreme undertaking, and here he has accomplished all four with integrity, wit, humor, intelligence, and undeniable brass. It is quite simply impossible to watch this movie without being repeatedly shocked at the depth of its honesty. The supporting cast is also excellent, and Don Cheadle stands out as LD.
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6/10
Beatty's back taking chances
moonspinner5528 June 2001
Political comedy from co-writer/producer/director/star Warren Beatty, a former Hollywood renegade showing us he's still in fine form here and willing to take risks again after too many years of playing it safe. "Bulworth" treads semi-dangerous ground...and it's a relief! In 1996, California senator on the Democratic ticket is running for a staid re-election when he suddenly ditches his straight-laced campaign and concentrates on winning over black, urban voters. Beatty as a 'brother'? It's actually less painful than it sounds, and the star is wise to surround himself with a very competent troupe of supporting players (including Halle Berry in one of her best performances). A well-made picture with a thoughtful message and finale, although the film's aim to be a wicked send-up of politics is slightly compromised by a dopey hitman sub-plot. **1/2 from ****
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3/10
Certainly different
rps-24 November 2000
This is an interesting premise for a movie, a politician who suddenly starts telling the truth. But after that is established in a couple of effective scenes, the movie doesn't go anywhere. It just says the same thing over and over and over. I also found a lot of needless profanity which also got tedious. It would be nice when writers lard their work with swear words if they at least came up with some original or clever ones.
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8/10
Good Political Satire
billcr1222 August 2012
Warren Beatty is the director, writer, and star of Bulworth, a political black comedy in the tradition of Bob Roberts and the Contender. He is an old fashioned 60s liberal who has moved to the center to appease the voters. His marriage has secretly been an open one for years, showing the public the perfect couple; sounds like the Clintons. He decides to take out a large life insurance policy and have someone kill him, in order to leave the money to his daughter. He goes off the deep end by appearing at campaign events drunk and making inappropriate comments, which make him a media star. He meets a staffer, Nina(the physically perfect Halle Berry), and the senator quickly hook up; surprise, surprise. Her brother is a drug dealer, and Bulworth hangs out with them and she reveals a big secret. He is revitalized as a candidate and the movie ends ambiguously. Beatty is funny and likable as the politician, and I am always mesmerized by Berry's beauty. Bulworth is a solid 8/10.
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6/10
like the idea
SnoopyStyle20 March 2016
It's 1996. Californian Democratic Senator Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) is worn out and cracking up. His politics has been drifting right. He suffered a large lost shorting pork bellies. He gets $10 million in life insurance to be paid to his 17 year old daughter. He hires a hit-man to kill him. When the hit doesn't happen as expected, he starts acting strange. His off-the-cuff speech at a black church attracts Nina (Halle Berry). His chief of staff Dennis Murphy (Oliver Platt) is besides himself while C-SPAN is filming a special on the senator. As his truth raps gain media traction, he tries desperately to cancel his assassination.

I like the idea a lot better than the actual execution. Firstly, I don't find this that funny. I don't think I actually laughed. A few things irk me the wrong way. I find Warren Beatty a bit creepy in this role. He's unbalanced and I have a difficult time fully embracing him. It's watching an old white guy trying to act black. It may be funny for a second but it's terribly awkward. The movie needs to find its heart and it seems to be his daughter. He's essentially doing the assassination to give to his daughter but she's never on the screen. The movie needs to start with him and her having an emotional scene. It needs to anchor the whole movie and that is the missing piece. She is his heart.

Murphy is too slow to catch on. He needs to be on the ball quicker. He does say that Bulworth needs to tell him what the play is. However, he should be smart enough to come up with a play himself and so much more. He could be a great insightful character if he's written smarter. Not to mention the couple of stereotypical black girls in the posse. The high-minded political talk is also mind-numbing. There are moments that I like and I want the movie to go a different way sometimes. This is a movie where I love the concept but the execution isn't as much fun as I hope.
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4/10
Nothing Funny Here.....
werefox0826 March 2012
Warren Beatty co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and was the star in this political satire/ comedy. He should have given the part of Bulworth to a slightly younger --and funnier actor.Beatty just isn't funny. When you see a movie that continually tells you about things that everyone knows (money in the U.S.A. is not fairly distributed)..and other social in-justices, it becomes tiresome. At times i felt I should have been laughing, .... but its so "clever" and so very "witty" --(and repetitive)), i just watched and watched. The relationship between Bulworth and Tina (Halle Berry)has ..zero..chemistry, and is a little ridiculous. This was NOT Berries finest hour !! The film walks the fine line between humor and politics. It is an average piece of work--strangely not funny--and easy to forget.
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More true in 2021
m196520 May 2021
I'm watching this movie in 2021 thinking - wow - this is so spot on for today, and made over 20yrs ago.

Apparently nobody listened.
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6/10
Pop Politics
aciessi27 October 2015
A cookie-cutter politician finally has had enough, and rises from the establishment expectation and speaks his mind by using an irreverent, slightly vulgar, down-with-the people style of rhetoric. Whoa, is this the Donald Trump story? Or maybe it's the Bernie Sanders story? Bulworth was a shock-wave of a movie back in 1998, when American politics weren't straying far from it's disingenuous roots. Between the Clintons and the Bushes, it was as phony as ever. But today, Bulworth is more timely than it has ever been. Every politician right now is doing 'the Bulworth", even the creepily calculated Hillary Clinton. Art is imitating life once again. What was once a spit of fire in a quiet room has become a political revolution. On all accounts, this movie has every right to seem as excellent as I'm making it sound. But despite it's Nostradamus effect in terms of politics, everything else about it is dated. Warren Beatty does a decent job, but I can't really buy him as the rapping politician. He sounds like the granny from The Wedding Singer. He can't hang. The stereotypes of South Central LA are also in full force here, despite it's attempts at humanizing the community. Oh yes, the divide between classes and races is as big as they've ever been at this very moment, but the sophistication of the conversation has changed dramatically. It's a lot more complex now than 1998 had it, and so, to that extent, it's dated. The writing as a whole also loses it's edge slightly after an hour in, and becomes a series of romantic, political-drama conventions. I have to say, though, the very beginning and very end of the movie are fantastic.
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7/10
Politics as Theatre
Cineanalyst25 June 2021
I'm both surprised and not that he's reported to have done some uncredited script polishing, because "Bulworth" is the sort of Clinton-era left-wing political fantasy of a more honest and more liberal--basically the same thing in this schema--Democrat that I would imagine Aaron Sorkin would've wrote entirely himself were he a better writer. It's still a flawed picture, what with its odd mixture of 1970s-style political thriller, such as "The Parallax View" (1974) that also starred Warren Beatty, who is also credited with penning the screenplay and directing this time, with more recent trends of politically-incorrect shock jocks and trolls and none-too-funny gags involving drug use by panicking political aides, and I wouldn't be surprised if many make more out of what it says about class, corruption and race than it deserves, or considered it in a slight way prescient of the Trump administration, but the central premise here of politics as theatre is apt.

The rapping along with the speechifying and TV mockery is great, and in so far as "Bulworth" says anything profound regarding race, profanity or other issues, it's in that cultural and representational frame. The TV interview scene is even rather moving. Beatty is the star and everyone else is merely playing spectators or providing material for him to absorb and later enact--theatrically, that is, not necessarily legislatively--but that's rather the point. This isn't the place to argue whether a suicidal white sexagenarian political hack affecting supposed black youth culture and out of his mind for lack of sleep and food would make for good governance, but it's an amusing curiosity when placed within the cinematic stage of fiction where it belongs.
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10/10
Powerful, disturbing and funny political satire
runamokprods12 December 2011
Other than a few forced silly moments, this is the sharpest, darkest, bravest. most disturbing political satire out of Hollywood since "Network".

This is Beatty's career best performance by far, making his rapidly breaking down liberal Democrat Senator into a character simultaneously howlingly funny, pitiable, admirable, wince inducing, pathetic and horrifying.

Beatty has made a film that walks the razor's edge right along with it's lead character, playing into deliberately provoking racial and cultural stereotypes at the same time it shreds them.

This isn't a polite "the system needs fixing" movie, it's an in-your-face scream that the system is broken, perhaps beyond all repair. That idea seems only more timely now.
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6/10
What is "truth"?
rmax30482314 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Warren Beatty is a California Senator who hasn't slept or eaten anything for days. He's distracted, exhausted, going mad. He decides to take out a large insurance policy and then arranges to have himself murdered by a hit man he's never met. Since he knows he's losing his life, losing his political position begins to look like a small matter, so he appears disheveled at fund raisers and criticizes Jews at a meeting of movie moguls, blacks at a meeting of blacks, refers to Catholics as "mackeral snappers," and so on. His staff are going mad too by this time.

Eventually, Beatty falls in with a large and diverse black family in the ghetto, led there in a sinuous path by Hallie Berry. He picks up a skill at rhyming speech, dresses like a home boy in shades and phat pants, and gets one too many capitalists angry at him when he takes up liberal causes.

I don't know why it doesn't work better than it does. It's not Beatty's performance, which is about as good as it usually is, and he has some very funny moments. The performances of Beatty's staff, led by Oliver Platt, are fine as well, except that they turn chaotic at the end. It's not Hallie Berry, who is so sexy, so beautiful, so fey in her prospect that she can do no wrong.

Her father was African-American and her mother was a white European. She's only categorized as "black" because we all agree that she should be. Just as it's only common agreement that gives English separate words for "blue" and "green", while other languages have only one word for both colors. Sometimes "reality" is what we make of it. I'm throwing that in, just in case anyone is curious about issues like this. They should look up "the social construction of reality" in Google.

Beatty's improvised rap lyrics are amusing when they're not too fast or too complicated to understand. The hip hop music is execrable. My heart sinks when I hear it because it takes so little skill to produce. I have more than enough electronic percussion ringing in my ears from the moment I get out of bed. And when my nervous system started to go berserk, my thoughts took on a peculiar configuration too but it had class -- iambic pentameter.

I'm not sure of the significance of the ending. We've had a kind of lecture on the positions that many blacks are forced into, including the children, and the bitterness they feel towards whites. When Bullworth begins to spout his more generous views, at least some of them, like Don Cheadle, are so amazed that they reform. Okay. A nice warm and uplifting ending. But if it's supposed to be a feel-good fairy tale, why have Bullworth end up as he does? It doesn't seem as if the writers had a clear end game in sight. They're like some of our politicians trying to manage events in the turbulent Middle East.
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9/10
You got to be a spirit! You can't be no ghost.
"All we need is a voluntary, free-spirited, open-ended program of procreative racial deconstruction. Everybody just gotta keep f*ckin' everybody 'til they're all the same color."

I revisit this film periodically as it is so appropriate to what is happening in the country. Warren Beatty has written, directed, and starred in a timeless ode to the fact that our fascist state is so behind in health care and taking care of the poor.

"Obscenity? The rich is getting richer and richer and richer while the middle class is getting more poor/ Making billions and billions and billions of bucks/ well my friend if you weren't already rich at the start well that situation just sucks/cause the riches mother f*cker in five of us is getting ninety f*ckin eight percent of it/ and every other motherf*cker in the world is left to wonder where the f*ck we went with it."

Yes, we are reminded by this film that we are all at the mercy of the rich. They rape the riches of America and enslave the rest of us. It's hard to take, especially by those who would excuse their behavior because they are waiting for their in the "Promised Land."

"I'm giving them entry-level positions into the only growth-sector occupation that's truly open to them right now. That's the substance supply industry. They gonna run this sh*t someday. They gonna have the whole empire. Man, y'all don't give a f*ck about it. You greedy-ass politicians. That's what you tell me every time that y'all vote to cut them school programs; every time y'all vote to cut them funds to the job programs. What the f*ck; how a... how a young man gonna take care of his financial responsibilities workin' at motherf*ckin' Burger King? He ain't. He ain't, and please don't even start with the school sh*t. They ain't no education going' on up in that motherf*cker. 'Cause y'all motherf*ckin' politicians done f*cked the sh*t up. So what they gonna do? What's a young man supposed to do then, right? What's he gonna do? He gonna come to me, that's what he's gonna do. Why? 'Cause I'm a businessman, and as a businessman, you gotta limit your liabilities. And that's what these shorties offer me: limited liabilities; because of their limited vulnerability to legal sanctions, man. It's the same f*ckin' thing in politics, Dog. You find an edge, you gotta exploit that sh*t. That's why y'all sent all them motherf*ckin' teenagers to Iraq. Die over some motherf*ckin' oil money. Send the motherf*ckin' CIA up in the 'hood with all the f*ckin yayos. Slangin' in the hood man. It's the same sh*t in politics."

We wonder why we have a problem in this country when we have an education system that is no better that is was before Brown V Topeka, and we keep sending the poor to fight so the rich can get richer.

Sure, Bulworth is a political movie made by one of the most political people in Hollywood. It stings and it hurts those who are the object of the numerous political barbs contained therein. It hits at Democrats and Republicans - all politicians are equally to blame for the mess we have.

You have to love Warren Beatty for having the courage to make this. It had some other greats here, too, in a huge cast. Halle Berry, Sean Astin, Don Cheadle, Oliver Platt and others, including cameos by Al Gore and others.

I've given you a taste. See more, if you dare.
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7/10
Bulworth straight spits the truth.
tbills216 April 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Bulworth has prime performers aplenty appearing in this order. Warren Beatty (Hilarious and so lovely.). Christine Baranski. Oliver Platt. Debra Monk. Florence Stanley. Jack Warden. Nora Dunn. Jim Haynie. Paul Sorvino. Richard C. Sarafian. Joshua Malina. Laurie Metcalf. Wendell Pierce. Sean Astin. Halle Berry (Halle is the most beautiful woman ever. She really is. I love Miss Halle Berry. She's so sexy in this movie. It's really romantic seeing Halle throughout Bulworth. I loooooove Halle, man. I love her more than anybody else in the world.). Ariyan A. Johnson. Isaiah Washington. Mimi Lieber. Stanley DeSantis. Michael Clarke Duncan. Barry Shabaka Henley. Don Cheadle. Graham Beckel. Larry King. Helen Martin. Michael Milhoan. Chris Mulkey. Billy Baldwin.

Haha, this movie's really funny. And really silly. And really real. And really goofy, haha. And really smart. And really stupid, hahaha.

Now is the time for a little rhyme. In honor of this movie. It's time to get groovy. I love you Halle Berry. I kinda wanna marry. You in real life. And I wouldn't think twice. I really love your beauty. You have a phat booty. You really make me happy. So I never feel crappy. You're really really pretty. The cutest in the city. I love your pretty smile. And your sexy style. You have the best eyes. And the best thighs. I love the way you stare. And your sexy hair. Your attitude's the best. Are you funny, yes. Halle you're a treat. You suck your sucker sweet. Baby you can dance. You put me in a trance. You flick your tongue so nice. I need you in my life. I love your free spirit. Your voice I'd love to hear it. Your lips I want to kiss. I know it would be bliss. You can act with the best. Forget about the rest. I promise you're the hottest. I am not being modest. Halle, give me all your lovin'. Gosh, you're hotter than an oven. In Bulworth, Halle, I love that I can see your thong. In life, Halle, I love that you inspired me to write this song.

I'm not as good a rapper as Bulworth. Or ODB. Or Pras.

'ghetto superstarrr that is what u rrr coming from afarrr reaching for the starrrs run away with meee to another plaaace we can relyy on each other uh huuuhh from 1 coorner to another uh huuh'
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3/10
Could have been so much better!
geostan16 September 1999
This is a film that could have been excellent. But it is flawed by exaggeration, mixed messages and filled with such vile language that only the Eddie Murphys of this world can watch it without turning pale.

It is one of the reasons I avoid going to the cinema. At least on video, I have access to the fast forward button on the remote, and I got quite a bit of exercise with it this time.

Given a choice between the Warren Beatty of Heaven Can Wait and this garbage, it doesn't take a genius to see where my vote lies.
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10/10
Bulworth dated? Look at New Orleans today and think again!
Dominique23 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Bulworth may have been filmed in the MTV quick edit way that some find unfitting for an Oscar worthy production but, aesthetics aside, its contents are right on the mark.

Anyone who claims Beatty's/Bulworth's analysis and solutions to political problems are dated, must be living under a rock. As we speak, Bulworth's claims that "white people have more in common with black people than with rich people" are proved to be completely accurate as we look at the devastating aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Though New Orleans' population consists largely of blacks and ethnic minorities, those who were left behind had ONE common denominator: they are infirm either economically or physically i.e. they are POOR or HEALTH CHALLENGED. The TV-images show poor white people among the many poor blacks. Poverty is what sets them both back. Bulworth dated? You must be living in a socio-economically comfortable cocoon.

If anything, Beatty proved with this, both hilarious as bluntly accurate, brilliant movie to be a visionary. He puts his finger on where it hurts most: the complete corruption of the system, the hand-clapping, backslapping deals between interest groups and politicians, turning the last group into mouthpieces for selfish agendas. The hypocrisy behind the photo ops (look at Bush yesterday on the news posing with hurricane victims), the empty rhetoric, the feigning to be there for the people, when really they're only there for themselves.

People who cannot come up with more than "this is socialist rhetoric/propaganda" comments are obviously deaf, dumb and blind to the realities of (modern day) politics and therefore deserve to be duped by the leaders they so willingly, blindly, wish to trust, believe and follow. It really is true folks: "Tax payers, tax payers, take it in the rear". Wake up and smell the dung, for goodness sake!

Now for the movie itself. Some have commented that Beatty, as an affluent, middle-aged (by now senior citizen) WHITE man, cannot possibly understand what "ordinary people" go through. Think again. Beatty has been in politics for the Democrats for decades. He is one of the very few rich (DEMOCRATIC) guys who actually gives a damn about the less privileged of our society. Being rich does not equate being unable to educate oneself, nor does being white. Beatty's always had many contacts and friends in the black community with whom he exchanged ideas and concerns.

I'm colored and found nothing about the movie stereotypical or racially offensive AT ALL. Those who do, including blacks, are missing the larger picture this movie is trying to paint. Bulworth is not intended as a "white Messiah" for the "stereotypical hoodlum blacks". He is a metaphor and as a wake-up call, he NEEDS to be an extreme. The movie would not have worked if Bulworth had been a black senator, a young senator, or if Bulworth had met a white single mother Starbuck's employee. When you want to reach people, you have to wake them up, you have to make them sit up, take notice, think, and start discussing what they have just seen. THAT's exactly what this movie in THIS chosen format, with these characters, does. It completely serves its purpose. Unfortunately those who oppose the movie are even unaware that their criticism is a credit to this movie, for it apparently made them think (even if they arrive at mixed up, not understanding conclusions).

Bulworth is not perfect, but its imperfections are easily forgiven. The movie keeps moving without a dull moment in it. Beatty is hilarious and totally enjoying his part (and his freedom?) addressing everything that's wrong in this sick society with a zeal and energy that many guys half his age must envy. I love the fact that this is the first movie in which Warren dares to look his age. He has never been afraid to ridicule himself in past movies. Anybody who's into Beatty knows that horse-face Carly Simon's "You're so vain" most definitely is NOT about him. The rest of the cast is simply fantastic, too. Oliver Platt is rib-crackingly funny as the concerned, confused and finally mentally broken down campaign manager Murphy. He elevates the term "spin-doctor" to complete new heights! Joshua Malina (campaign aid Feldman) is almost as funny. Platt and Malina have some hilarious scenes together. Old Beatty favorite, veteran actor, Jack Warden is solid as ever. Halle Berry's character could have used a bit more humor, but she does a good job. Yes, it is a bit of a stretch that the gorgeous Nina would fall for the "used to be gorgeous too, but not so much anymore" aging Bulworth, but to state that without looking deeper into how she comes to her choice, is to ignore a significant part of the movie. At first she doesn't know what to make of this, seemingly confused, man. But as she follows him, his actions, his words, his attitude, she discovers that he is sincere. That combined with him being in a position in which he could actually make a much needed difference in society, makes her "change her mind" and fall for him. It's not like this young girl Nina has some geriatric preferences in the romantic department! Ariyan A. Johnson and Michele Morgan are amusing as the two enthusiastic new Bulworth "VOOOOOOLUNTEEEEEEEEEEEEERS". Paul Sorvino, Richard Sarafian, Don Cheadle are all solid. Yes, the turnaround of L.D. in the end is too quick in the making, but the alternative would be a (much) longer movie, so that's one of the very few weaknesses in the script. Last comments: - NO, Bulworth does not "only speak in rap" once he's started rapping. - NO, Bulworth is not some aging actor's ego trip. It's a wake-up call to America. - Never knew a 60 plus year old white guy could look so hilariously cute in hip hop gear. - Let the spirit take hold of you, and let it lead you to take action, now that Bulworth has been silenced.......
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7/10
Witty Commentary
ReelCheese3 April 2007
BULWORTH is one of those witty, social commentary pieces which, while only sporadically uproarious, delivers. Warren Beatty is the title character, a California senator who lets it all hang out during what he has paid a hit man to ensure is his last weekend on earth.

The senator's sudden carefree attitude is the key theme of BULWORTH, and offers the film's biggest laughs. Consider the line where he tells a frustrated group of black supporters that unless they "get behind someone other than a running back who stabs his wife," they'll never get rid of politicians who promise to deliver on black concerns but never follow through. Or when visiting Jewish supporters, he assures his audience that he's quite certain his speechwriter "put something bad about Farrakhan in here for you." It's about as un-PC as you can get, but that's the point.

BULWORTH also unravels (the film, not the character) with superb direction from Beatty. He wisely chose to pick up in the middle of the story rather than over-explaining the character's origins or how he got to this pathetic place he now finds himself. There are too many situations and settings for the senator to count, which aids in our viewing pleasure. Beatty also squeezed memorable performances from virtually everyone, with Halle Berry, Oliver Platt and the cameoing Larry King deserving special mention.

On the downside, BULWORTH is hurt by excessive vulgarity. Hearing Beatty and friends muse about Arsenio Hall's nether region is painful, as are the attempts to find humor in cocaine addiction. It sometimes seems as though the writers knew they only had so much quality material and felt compelled to pad out the rest with second-rate shenanigans. Moreover, the film's rather astute social commentary morphs into outright preaching, complete with stereotypical racist cops and unimaginative Hollywood-like rants against center-right ideals.

But as mentioned, BULWORTH generally overcomes its flaws. The politically inclined will appreciate it most, but it's worth a look for anyone in the mood for an adult comedy.
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2/10
Bulworthless
brainspoon23 May 2002
I just finished watching this over-hyped pile of pretentious garbage. Where to begin?...

For one thing, I hate movies that stuff political messages down my throat and preach to me. Even if I sometimes agree with the message, there are more subtle and elegant ways to convey the point then spoon feeding it to me like I'm an idiot. This movie just went on and on about how America is falling apart and run by big uncaring corporations that tell the government what to do. Well, duh. Did anyone not already know this?

And what self respecting, intelligent person would follow such a clown as Bulworth? Give me a break. So Warren Beatty dresses like a gangsta rappa and all of a sudden the entire black population stands up behind him in support? WHAT!?

So, because of Bulworth's rapping loud mouth, everything falls into place and is so perfect and happy and the world is going to be all okay? Sure. Whatever. Life isn't that simple.

The movie is boring, long, and devoid of believable characters or situations. I recommend Tim Robbin's movie Bob Roberts if you'd like a political satire that is actually funny and not just insulting.
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