Bulworth Details

Warren Beatty's astonishingly fearless political satire is one of the boldest studio films to come out of Hollywood in years. Beatty, who writes and directs, also stars as a disillusioned liberal senator who takes out a hitman contract on his own life, giving him three days to start saying what he really believes. Just when you think Beatty won't dare to be more radical than his acidic (and very funny) swipes at just about everybody, he re-invents himself as a street-wise urban rapper! Sharper and riskier than the more conventional political satires such as Bob Roberts or Primary Colors, the film succeeds as both a startlingly original comedy and a fang-baring assault on the American political system.

A satire on the corporate control of political parties that, however accurate, lacks bite; Beatty's embrace of urban black culture, as his senator breaks into rap, seems self-indulgent rather than revolutionary.