Vice
Director: Adam McKay
Writer: Adam McKay
Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Pill, Eddie Marsan, Justin Kirk, LisaGay Hamilton, Jesse Plemons, Bill Camp, Don McManus, Lily Rabe, Shea Whigham, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Tyler Perry
Seen on: 27.3.2019
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Content Note: misogyny

Plot:
Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) had some tough times and struggled with alcohol, but after an ultimatum from his wife Lynne (Amy Adams), he pulled himself together and went into politics. Even though he is never really at the forefront of political offices, he rises steadily in the ranks until he even becomes vice president to George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) – a position he manages to make even more powerful than it was until then.

Vice was absolutely unbearable. Arrogant, preachy and smug, I had a hard time not screaming through the film – and that although I share the criticism it presents.

Vice has one thing absolutely going for it: the cast is fantastic, and in combination with excellent make-up and costumes, they really manage to look like the people they play. Sometimes it is pretty creepy how close they get. I definitely want a film with Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush that isn’t this film.

Because this film really doesn’t work. It is all written in a preachy tone by a dude who doesn’t once reflect his own privileged position, but thinks he knows everything and is now gracious enough to bestow his wisdom on the poor common people so that they may grow and learn and become more like him.

And if that alone wasn’t enough to make the film overbearing, this arrogance becomes especially obvious whenever it touches on (young) women. Fortunately this doesn’t happen too often, but the contempt that oozes out of the film against (young) women is actually breathtaking.

It did manage to get a couple of laughs from me, I will give it that. But really, I would like to see a film with Christian Bale again that I can actually stand. Vice definitely isn’t it.

Summarizing: Insufferable.