Name one other president who has inspired filmmakers as much as
George W. Bush. You can’t because there isn’t any. Not even Nixon. Bush and his administration galvanizes people (one way or another) like no other modern president, and “There’s Something About W” explores why he should be uniting the Left.
Unlike the more emotional “Fahrenheit 9/11,” this voting “tool” uses hard facts to make its case against the President. The President and his administration’s own words and records are compared and contrasted to the real world as the film examines what the tax cuts really are and who they honestly affect, the war in Iraq, the disappearing middle class, and the lies behind Bush’s health care plan and environmental policies. All of this is done with opinions and analysis from various professors and people like Molly Ivins. There’s also some comedy and speeches by people like Michael Moore and Will Durst. Most effective, though, are the words of Bush, Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft. Give ‘em enough rope, indeed.
One thing that was sorely missing from this compelling film was Noam
Chomsky, who has pointed out time and time again how semantics is essential to politics. You must look at what is said and then what is actually done, and you must learn how to “decode” the words of politicians. That’s what this film does, so it was a surprise to not see Chomsky giving his interpretation of the matters discussed.
While Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” was a better film overall due to its emotional weight, “There’s Something About W” is a film the more factually minded need to see. It can serve as an excellent companion to Moore’s film, but it also stands on its own for those who are put off by Moore’s filmmaking style. If anything, this production serves as a message for both sides of the political fence. It wants to motivate people (in this case, to vote against Bush), but it can also give notice to Republican party members that the world isn’t as blind as they would like to think. Here is the case against the president, GOP. Dispute it.
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