Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) is celebrated by the clandestine services. The movies flashbacks to the early 1980s. Playboy Texas minor congressman Charlie Wilson gets interested in the struggles of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Bonnie Bach (Amy Adams) is his executive assistant. He is pushed by his wealthy supporter Houston socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts) and assisted by maverick CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Philip Seymour Hoffman).
Tom Hanks is fine but I wish he is acting bigger and brasher. Julia Roberts is not nearly acting big enough for a Texas socialite. The hair is big but she's not wild enough. They are playing it a bit too safe for a satire. The thing is that I never bought into its realism either. PSH ups the fun factor with his acting. The movie is not jokey enough to be funny. Neither is it harsh enough. Considering 9/11 at the top of every audience's mindset, it could have hit a lot harder. It's somewhere in the lumpy middle. The film leaves only a couple of scenes for the post-Soviet Afghanistan. That could be a compelling switch in his character but it gets short-changed.
Tom Hanks is fine but I wish he is acting bigger and brasher. Julia Roberts is not nearly acting big enough for a Texas socialite. The hair is big but she's not wild enough. They are playing it a bit too safe for a satire. The thing is that I never bought into its realism either. PSH ups the fun factor with his acting. The movie is not jokey enough to be funny. Neither is it harsh enough. Considering 9/11 at the top of every audience's mindset, it could have hit a lot harder. It's somewhere in the lumpy middle. The film leaves only a couple of scenes for the post-Soviet Afghanistan. That could be a compelling switch in his character but it gets short-changed.