When you’re the leader of the most powerful country in the world, you’re an easy target for scrutiny and criticism. When you’re last name is Bush it’s even easier.
As a November election approaches, the number of celluloid anti-Bush diatribes seem to be growing every day. Most state their opposition out front and run with it throughout the duration of the film, Fahrenheit 9/11 being the most obvious case. While I don’t have a problem with filmmakers coming clean with their biases up front and letting their audience know where they are coming from, I’m finding myself becoming numb to some of them because they’re all saying the same things.
What I like about Robin Chin’s There’s Something About W is that it looks at Bush’s own policies and promises and breaks them down into their successes and failures ultimately allowing the voter to make up their mind rather than some guy from Flint, Michigan telling them where to mark the ‘X’.
Although There’s Something About W isn’t as entertaining or funny as its election-themed brethren, it is in many ways more informative. In a manageable 40 minutes, the documentary looks at Junior Bush’s record on such topics as war, taxes, international affairs and business attitudes. Many familiar voices are heard including Moore and author/satirist Al Franken. But what would a Bush film be without the commander putting his foot in his mouth over and over again? There’s some of that too. The overall result is a film that clearly does not support a second term for the Republican but it does so in such a way that it allows the viewer to still think for themselves. By asking and investigating big, important questions that are relevant to everyone, There’s Something About W emerges as an important and accessible educational tool.
