Bulworth (1998) * * *

Directed by: Warren Beatty

Starring:  Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Jack Warden, Sean Astin, Laurie Metcalf, Christine Baranski, Don Cheadle

Senator Jay Bulworth sits in his office watching loops of his re-election campaign commercials, each starting with, "We are on the verge of a new millenium in America".   He hasn't slept or eaten in days.    He is sickened to his soul and fed up with politics, so much so that he secretly hires a hitman to whack him during his visit to California so his daughter can receive a large life insurance payout.
Feeling free for the first time in years, he insults his constituents and supporters at various fundraisers and begins telling his truth, which is not always good for a re-election campaign.

His campaign manager (Platt), stodgingly wants to keep Bulworth on a tight schedule and an even tighter leash, but this turns out to be a fool's errand.     Once he tastes freedom and a young black woman named Nina (Berry) catches his eye, he can't be restrained.    Bulworth follows Nina to an all-night hip-hop club, where he takes to rapping and smoking weed while dirty dancing with Nina.    His advisors are horrified, but what can they do?

Bulworth, directed and co-written by Beatty, is a risky comedy that doesn't always work, but you admire the effort Beatty displays in pushing the envelope.    If you've ever wanted to see Warren Beatty dressed like a hip-hop star and rapping his speeches to gobsmacked onlookers, this is your movie.     There is also the business of Bulworth putting the hit out on himself, which he attempts to call off once he falls for Nina, but getting a hit called off even on yourself is apparently a tough thing to do.    Nina herself is mysterious and deceptively intelligent, played by Berry as a sexy woman who may not be showing us all of her cards.

Beatty as a star and director has made a career out of taking chances with his material.     Heaven Can Wait was a superior romantic comedy, while Reds, Dick Tracy, and Bulworth show Beatty's love for challenges.     Like Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Leonardo DiCaprio, Beatty isn't content on falling back on his good looks.    He likes to stretch himself.     It's little wonder he has been nominated for 14 Oscars for acting, directing, and screenwriting over his long career.  

Bulworth isn't quite as successful as Reds or Dick Tracy because it sometimes seems all over the map.     It's a biting political satire that tells harsh truths, but at times it's a study of race relations and a study in poor vs. rich.     Some of this works, some of this doesn't.     Plus, there is also the subplot in which Bulworth is trying to evade hitmen.      Beatty may have tried to cram too much into his movie, but it isn't boring.     I would've love to have eavesdropped on the pitch meeting for Bulworth.