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A politician has nothing left to lose.. so why not speak the truth? Warren Beatty's Senator Jay Bulworth lays down the smack: the reason the working man (in this movie, the working class is cleverly disguised as hip-hop mavens) doesn't have a voice, is he doesn't have the sway or monetary bullocks to *buy* a voice. Words aren't worth a penny unless you're worth billions. And of course, from the first instant, this divine fool's failure is certain and imminent: Big Business, what with its grimy fingers perpetually immersed in the U.S. Government's proverbial tub of crunchy Jif, would never allow a politician like Bulworth to succeed, at the risk of the working class' newfound capacity to leech the power from the insurance companies and tire manufacturers.

Beneath the sometimes dark comedy, Bulworth has a lot of insightful and painful comments to may about our often hypocritical and ineffectual government. These observations are made satirically, but effectively. This is not a heavy-handed work. One thing that hampered Bulworth at the box-office was its portrayal of the man in the black community. People didn't get it. They were offended, especially many liberal white people. Beatty was in no way making fun of African-Americans by showing a very streetwise group. His point, which I thought was fairly obvious, was that many people will behave in an antisocial way in a society that is largely indifferent and often hostile towards them. I think that's almost a no-brainer. Bulworth is that rare politician who has soul. I agree that Warren Beaty's rapping was sub par, but who cares? "Bulworth" makes a powerful statement that in order to transcend problems of crime, poverty, racism, and political corruption we are going to have to take a cold hard look at who we really are and what is really happening around us. Accepting other people particularly from different racial and economic backgrounds has to be more than just an insincere speech act. It must be an act of good will that is grounded in practical reality.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

You have to hand it to Warren Beatty, he redefines the term "maverick". He could be, like many of his contemporaries, taking it easy. Instead, "Bullworth". One of the most outrageously funny satires I've seen in a long time. Satire? Somebody asked me. Well yes, satire. A realistic, daring, clearheaded, masterful satire. We live in satirical times, we have no choice in the matter. It takes an artist of Beatty's caliber to turns things around and makes us laugh and shiver at this mess of our own making. After seeing "Bullworth" I felt compelled to revisit some of Beatty's earlier work as an actor or producer or director. From "Mickey One" to "Reds" passing through "Bonnie And Clyde" and "Shampoo" not to mention "Heaven Can Wait" Mr. Beatty's legacy is one of amazing consistency. As I smiled enjoying his funny portrayal in "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" with Vivien Leigh, I thought: that beautiful man is not just a pretty face.

I cannot recommend 'Bulworth' highly enough. Sure, I've seen lots of worthy political satires. 'The Candidate', 'Wag the Dog', 'Bob Roberts', and others. But this is the finest example ever made. Warren Beatty should be very proud of this masterpiece. Not only for the guts it took to so brazenly confront the modern political process (and how it affects race relations, the film industry, education, medicine, and so on) but also for the fact that he wrote it, produced it, directed it, and starred in it. Any one of those jobs can be a supreme undertaking, and here he has accomplished all four with integrity, wit, humor, intelligence, and undeniable brass. It is quite simply impossible to watch this movie without being repeatedly shocked at the depth of its honesty. The supporting cast is also excellent, and Don Cheadle stands out as LD.

In BULWORTH Warren Beatty gives one of his funniest and most outrageous performances. This sharp political satire is even more timely now than it was in 1998. This is a marvelously subversive movie on several fronts: politics, race, economics, Hollywood itself! Beatty stars as a fading senator from California who is so burned out he arranges for a large insurance policy and then hires a hit man. He's at the end of his rope personally and professionally. He's losing in a primary election to a young gun and has nothing left in his life. After days without sleep or eating he is dragged off to a rally at a Black church. He starts to read his "usual" speech but almost in a state of delirium he starts answering questions HONESTLY. He enrages the Black congregation with his brutal answers but somehow feels buoyant. Outside the church as the mobs surround him he runs into Halle Berry and her friends and they all take off in the limo.

This starts a voyage of discovery for Beatty. Of course at this point Beatty is also running from the hit man. His new honesty unleashes a desire to live. They arrive at a Black hip-hop club where Beatty drinks, smokes pot, and is transformed by the loud urban rap music. The dance scene with Beatty and Berry is remarkable.

Next stop is a speech at a fancy Hollywood hotel filled with film executives. Beatty makes many comments of how Jews run Hollywood, becomes rich, but turn out a crappy product. Next comes a debate with his political opponent, and finally an interview. The new Beatty parrots back much of what he has heard from poor Blacks but of course he has always known the truth. His sense of freedom from the back-room politics of Washington is exhilarating and his new voice reaches the masses of disenfranchised voters. His comments about the media and how it is controlled by corporate America is more apt now (during the Bush administration) than ever before.

Beatty is brilliant, and this ranks as one of his very best performances. Berry is actually good as well in her pre-movie star mode when she still bothered to act. Oliver Platt scores as the political aide. Paul Sorvino is a lobbyist for the insurance industry.

Jack Warden, Helen Martin, Don Cheadle, Christine Baranski, Florence Stanley, Laurie Metcalf, Sean Astin, Isaiah Washington, Nora Dunn, Joshua Malina, William Baldwin, Hart Bochner, Armelia McQueen, and Jackie Gayle co-star.

Filled with humor, political insights, and top-notch performances. This acid look at politics in Amerca is more timely now than ever. Bravo to Warren Beatty!

"Bulworth" is another high-profile political satire that came out in 1998 that should have been on fire due to its pedigree and instead comes off as rather limp.

Warren Beatty plays an end-of-his-rope politician who goes a little off his rocker and begins to speak the truth to the people, often by rapping it to them hip-hop fashion. The joke is that the people love it, responding warmly to a politician who's willing to cut through the bullsh*t and tell it like it is.

The film is creative and has an interesting conceit, but it just doesn't work in that vague way that films sometimes don't and that's hard to put a finger on. Beatty's pretty good, but the whole film feels like it's trying too hard to be an art-house classic, and the tone doesn't fit the personalities of the artists associated with it.

Grade: B-

It's 1996. Californian Democratic Senator Jay Bulworth (Warren Beatty) is worn out and cracking up. His politics has been drifting right. He suffered a large lost shorting pork bellies. He gets $10 million in life insurance to be paid to his 17 year old daughter. He hires a hit-man to kill him. When the hit doesn't happen as expected, he starts acting strange. His off-the-cuff speech at a black church attracts Nina (Halle Berry). His chief of staff Dennis Murphy (Oliver Platt) is besides himself while C-SPAN is filming a special on the senator. As his truth raps gain media traction, he tries desperately to cancel his assassination.

I like the idea a lot better than the actual execution. Firstly, I don't find this that funny. I don't think I actually laughed. A few things irk me the wrong way. I find Warren Beatty a bit creepy in this role. He's unbalanced and I have a difficult time fully embracing him. It's watching an old white guy trying to act black. It may be funny for a second but it's terribly awkward. The movie needs to find its heart and it seems to be his daughter. He's essentially doing the assassination to give to his daughter but she's never on the screen. The movie needs to start with him and her having an emotional scene. It needs to anchor the whole movie and that is the missing piece. She is his heart.

Murphy is too slow to catch on. He needs to be on the ball quicker. He does say that Bulworth needs to tell him what the play is. However, he should be smart enough to come up with a play himself and so much more. He could be a great insightful character if he's written smarter. Not to mention the couple of stereotypical black girls in the posse. The high-minded political talk is also mind-numbing. There are moments that I like and I want the movie to go a different way sometimes. This is a movie where I love the concept but the execution isn't as much fun as I hope.

Bulworth was released quite a few years ago, but it is still (if not more) relevant today. It merges two "cultures," one being the rich white class culture, and the other being the urban lower class culture, and ends up with many universal ideals. The story's hero is Jay Billington Bulworth, portrayed brilliantly by Warren Beatty. I think some people have a problem with the fact that he is...well, more or less insane, but that is possibly the most important thing about the character. You could call him insane, but if you look at it more romantically, perhaps he is "posessed" by the "spirit" of social justice, a mere vessel for the truths that need to be told. He is a character unaware of the significance in what he is saying. To him, if he's not completely insane, he's simply a man who broke down and decided to tell it like it is (ala Peter Finch in Network, but with rapping and rhyming). There's something actually kind of mystical about all this.

Since it would be way too preachy if that's all there was to the story, there's some other aspects that make for an entertaining viewing. Bulworth, in his depression and anxiety, hired a hit-man to "off" him so his family could collect the life insurance. Once his speeches and raps become a success, this is obviously a big problem since he wants to live again ("You should never make life and death situations when feeling suicidal"). There is a love interest with a girl named Nina, played by the lovely Halle Berry. You don't know if you can trust her, and her intentions are unclear.

There is also a fine supporting role by Don Cheadle, who plays a "business man" who uses young children to sell drugs. His character does bring up some valid points, and we're forced to really put ourselves in his shoes. He's doing what he feels is right, but ultimately, the ends don't justify his means.

With a movie that has so much going on, it would probably be difficult for the filmmakers to figure out a way to wrap everything up, right? Unfortunately, yes. Bulworth ends pretty abruptly and leaves with the film's message being half-assedly shouted at the screen. The last act is a huge flaw in an otherwise perfect movie.

Bulworth is a hilarious comedy and it heralds something truly special and unique. It is not a film to be taken for granted or forgotten. It's a quintessential example of a 'contemporary classic' for our generation. I have no doubt that over the next decade or so, people will want to revisit it and examine the politics and the cultures; it should be studied in classrooms, it should be valued. I loved Bulworth!

My rating: 9/10

Doesn't date well but fascinating to see how the populist straight talking message can be applied to both the left and the right. Patrick Caddell who collaborated with Beatty on this and served as a political consultant to Carter originally, took his anti establishment views and ultimately switched allegiances to the Bannon wing of the Trump supporters. The evening after his first Consultation with Trump was when Trump came out swinging and declared the media the enemy. Art and life are strange.

Warren Beatty is the director, writer, and star of Bulworth, a political black comedy in the tradition of Bob Roberts and the Contender. He is an old fashioned 60s liberal who has moved to the center to appease the voters. His marriage has secretly been an open one for years, showing the public the perfect couple; sounds like the Clintons. He decides to take out a large life insurance policy and have someone kill him, in order to leave the money to his daughter. He goes off the deep end by appearing at campaign events drunk and making inappropriate comments, which make him a media star. He meets a staffer, Nina(the physically perfect Halle Berry), and the senator quickly hook up; surprise, surprise. Her brother is a drug dealer, and Bulworth hangs out with them and she reveals a big secret. He is revitalized as a candidate and the movie ends ambiguously. Beatty is funny and likable as the politician, and I am always mesmerized by Berry's beauty. Bulworth is a solid 8/10.

I wasn't exactly sure how to rate this film, and I bet others weren't either. It's difficult to say but fascinating to watch. Some scenes are terrific, others just terrible trash.

Halle Berry plays anything but a likable lead, nor are the characters people you can root for, except for Oliver Platt in the first half of the film. Then he totally changes.

Nonetheless, this is Warren Beatty's film, anyway. He dominates it and is what makes the movie fun. Knowing him and knowing this was political, I expected big-time Liberal propaganda but didn't find any heavy-handedness there.

For a comedy, there are way, way too many f-words, even in the "music," if you want to call it that. Despite that, the film has some charm, if it's possible to use that word in a film this profane. Beatty's rap lyrics were genuinely funny, no matter what your political persuasion might happen to be. An odd film.

One of two alleged motion pictures that I have voluntarily failed to view to completion in my half century plus of movie attendance. Except for a paltry few humorous moments, one of the most worthless efforts ever put to celluloid. But what else can you expect when you allow a shallow thinking, self congratulatory, egocentric like Beatty to run amok with a typewriter. WB, long a Hollywood darling, exposed himself as the personification of the Emperor's new clothes, and the real life equivalent of Being There's Chauncey. Senseless, gratuitously profane, extravagantly offensive and worst of all, gut wrenchingly boring, to the extent that only the most avid devotees of Beatty's crabbed philosophical views could appreciate it. As it sludged painfully on, getting worse with each scene, I found myself wondering what could possess any homo sapien writer with an IQ above 50 to continue to disgorge this bile with absolutely no smattering of socially redeeming value. Fortunately my psychological defensive mechanisms have succeeded in blurring this grotesque memory over the past seven years to the point where I can now bear to write about it without initiating gross reflux. Can you tell I didn't like it? Want a succinct review? Bullworthless.

Other than a few forced silly moments, this is the sharpest, darkest, bravest. most disturbing political satire out of Hollywood since "Network".

This is Beatty's career best performance by far, making his rapidly breaking down liberal Democrat Senator into a character simultaneously howlingly funny, pitiable, admirable, wince inducing, pathetic and horrifying.

Beatty has made a film that walks the razor's edge right along with it's lead character, playing into deliberately provoking racial and cultural stereotypes at the same time it shreds them.

This isn't a polite "the system needs fixing" movie, it's an in-your-face scream that the system is broken, perhaps beyond all repair. That idea seems only more timely now.

Political comedy from co-writer/producer/director/star Warren Beatty, a former Hollywood renegade showing us he's still in fine form here and willing to take risks again after too many years of playing it safe. "Bulworth" treads semi-dangerous ground...and it's a relief! In 1996, California senator on the Democratic ticket is running for a staid re-election when he suddenly ditches his straight-laced campaign and concentrates on winning over black, urban voters. Beatty as a 'brother'? It's actually less painful than it sounds, and the star is wise to surround himself with a very competent troupe of supporting players (including Halle Berry in one of her best performances). A well-made picture with a thoughtful message and finale, although the film's aim to be a wicked send-up of politics is slightly compromised by a dopey hitman sub-plot. **1/2 from ****

'Bulworth' is one of the most contemptible movies I have ever seen. It is the product of an overblown ego, one which belongs to Warren Beatty. Like Diogenes, it seems that Beatty has been looking for an honest man but can't find one--except for himself, of course. So he's decided to enlighten us with the "truth," as dispensed by St. Warren.

His method of doing this in this film is through a U.S. senator who makes up his mind to tell the truth no matter what. Basically, it boils down to this: Rich and powerful people have more influence than the poor and ordinary. Whatever valid points he has are lost in the shrill, dogmatic delivery of his message; his speeches sound like something from an SDS meeting at Columbia or UC-Berkeley in 1968, and they could be challenged by any competent debate student. Besides his broadsides against such things as the insurance industry, he takes a totally insulting slap at Jews, charging them with ruining the entertainment industry.

As a medium for his message, Beatty/Bulworth decides to embrace African-American culture. Like a good limousine liberal (or a benevolent plantation owner) he loves those poor black folk. They're so funky and have such inherent wisdom, you know. Of course, they need a Great White Leader to show them the way, since they're incapable of doing it themselves. Guess who that is.

One would think then, that Beatty's movie wouldn't deliver such a stereotypical and yes, racist portrait of blacks in America. Black culture is pictured exclusively as South Central L.A. hip-hop culture and practically every black character seen onscreen is an actual or quasi-criminal. It's a disgusting presentation. What's as bad as that is Beatty/Bulworth putting on ghetto fashions and attempting to rap. This is both nauseating and excruciatingly embarrassing. Perhaps Beatty should think about paying reparations to the black community for ripping off their culture in such a shameless and shoddy manner.

Bulworth becomes a populist hero in this film, making me think Beatty is somewhat delusional as well. At least he had the presence of mind to realize an actual run for the presidency was not a good idea. That would be as bad a joke as 'Bulworth' is.

I'm watching this movie in 2021 thinking - wow - this is so spot on for today, and made over 20yrs ago.

Apparently nobody listened.

A cookie-cutter politician finally has had enough, and rises from the establishment expectation and speaks his mind by using an irreverent, slightly vulgar, down-with-the people style of rhetoric. Whoa, is this the Donald Trump story? Or maybe it's the Bernie Sanders story? Bulworth was a shock-wave of a movie back in 1998, when American politics weren't straying far from it's disingenuous roots. Between the Clintons and the Bushes, it was as phony as ever. But today, Bulworth is more timely than it has ever been. Every politician right now is doing 'the Bulworth", even the creepily calculated Hillary Clinton. Art is imitating life once again. What was once a spit of fire in a quiet room has become a political revolution. On all accounts, this movie has every right to seem as excellent as I'm making it sound. But despite it's Nostradamus effect in terms of politics, everything else about it is dated. Warren Beatty does a decent job, but I can't really buy him as the rapping politician. He sounds like the granny from The Wedding Singer. He can't hang. The stereotypes of South Central LA are also in full force here, despite it's attempts at humanizing the community. Oh yes, the divide between classes and races is as big as they've ever been at this very moment, but the sophistication of the conversation has changed dramatically. It's a lot more complex now than 1998 had it, and so, to that extent, it's dated. The writing as a whole also loses it's edge slightly after an hour in, and becomes a series of romantic, political-drama conventions. I have to say, though, the very beginning and very end of the movie are fantastic.

I'm both surprised and not that he's reported to have done some uncredited script polishing, because "Bulworth" is the sort of Clinton-era left-wing political fantasy of a more honest and more liberal--basically the same thing in this schema--Democrat that I would imagine Aaron Sorkin would've wrote entirely himself were he a better writer. It's still a flawed picture, what with its odd mixture of 1970s-style political thriller, such as "The Parallax View" (1974) that also starred Warren Beatty, who is also credited with penning the screenplay and directing this time, with more recent trends of politically-incorrect shock jocks and trolls and none-too-funny gags involving drug use by panicking political aides, and I wouldn't be surprised if many make more out of what it says about class, corruption and race than it deserves, or considered it in a slight way prescient of the Trump administration, but the central premise here of politics as theatre is apt.

The rapping along with the speechifying and TV mockery is great, and in so far as "Bulworth" says anything profound regarding race, profanity or other issues, it's in that cultural and representational frame. The TV interview scene is even rather moving. Beatty is the star and everyone else is merely playing spectators or providing material for him to absorb and later enact--theatrically, that is, not necessarily legislatively--but that's rather the point. This isn't the place to argue whether a suicidal white sexagenarian political hack affecting supposed black youth culture and out of his mind for lack of sleep and food would make for good governance, but it's an amusing curiosity when placed within the cinematic stage of fiction where it belongs.

An impossible feat to pull off, this film is remarkable in its audacious use of Rap rhythms and in your face farce that is a wonder to behold. There is literally nothing like this in moviedom. An over the top take on class war and politics that is amazingly fresh.

You would hardly think that Warren Beatty as a depressed suicidal Senator having a nervous breakdown and suffering from sleep deprivation, taking on the ridiculous persona of an inner-city youth and parading it in front of the National News Media, could work as a piercing political satire. But it does, and it is a devastating delivery of an unbridled, out of the box, stream of consciousness conviction of a world gone mad.

This is probably too pretentious and pandering for anyone but the far left to tolerate. However, even years later it is timeless, and you cannot deny that it is a mind-numbing movie that is entertaining and one must wonder, just how they made it happen. But here it is.

I just finished watching this over-hyped pile of pretentious garbage. Where to begin?...

For one thing, I hate movies that stuff political messages down my throat and preach to me. Even if I sometimes agree with the message, there are more subtle and elegant ways to convey the point then spoon feeding it to me like I'm an idiot. This movie just went on and on about how America is falling apart and run by big uncaring corporations that tell the government what to do. Well, duh. Did anyone not already know this?

And what self respecting, intelligent person would follow such a clown as Bulworth? Give me a break. So Warren Beatty dresses like a gangsta rappa and all of a sudden the entire black population stands up behind him in support? WHAT!?

So, because of Bulworth's rapping loud mouth, everything falls into place and is so perfect and happy and the world is going to be all okay? Sure. Whatever. Life isn't that simple.

The movie is boring, long, and devoid of believable characters or situations. I recommend Tim Robbin's movie Bob Roberts if you'd like a political satire that is actually funny and not just insulting.

Warren Beatty's Bulworth is one devastating satire on the political scene of the Clinton years. Sad to say things really ain't gotten any better here.

J. Billington Bulworth, Democratic Senator from California at one time rising liberal star has had to tack mighty heavily to the right in order to keep his office. Even at doing that he's facing a heavily financed rightwing opponent.

With defeat staring him in the face and no home life so to speak with both he and his wife pursuing the opposite sex, Bulworth just decides to chuck it all. His friends in the insurance industry are writing him one whopping life insurance policy and Bulworth hires a hit man to do him in.

Of course no with nothing to lose our U.S. Senator who before mouthed the political platitudes and nostrums we get from our elected officials at voting time, now starts telling some uncomfortable truths. Lack of sleep and some controlled substances produce a rapping U.S. Senator who along the way picks up some black groupie types with Halle Berry. The consequences of all these hijinks you'll have to watch Bulworth for.

One friend has compared it Network and there are certainly some similarities. I think Bulworth should be seen back to back with Robert Redford's The Candidate. If you'll remember Redford was the idealistic liberal who trimmed his sails through the advice of his hired spin doctors and got himself elected U.S. Senator from California. His Bill MacKay was wondering what he does then at the end of that film. I think Bulworth provides some answers as to a possible direction MacKay might have taken.

Warren Beatty wrote a witty script and a mean rap. Director Beatty gets some good performances by his cast and best in the supporting cast is his aide Oliver Platt who sees his whole career going down the tubes. There's a peculiar symbiotic relationship between Capitol Hill staffers and their bosses. They serve at the pleasure of, but at the same time a good one can make himself pretty valuable to his boss. Platt's such a guy, his character is quite authentic.

Remember watch Bulworth back to back with The Candidate.

BULWORTH is one of those witty, social commentary pieces which, while only sporadically uproarious, delivers. Warren Beatty is the title character, a California senator who lets it all hang out during what he has paid a hit man to ensure is his last weekend on earth.

The senator's sudden carefree attitude is the key theme of BULWORTH, and offers the film's biggest laughs. Consider the line where he tells a frustrated group of black supporters that unless they "get behind someone other than a running back who stabs his wife," they'll never get rid of politicians who promise to deliver on black concerns but never follow through. Or when visiting Jewish supporters, he assures his audience that he's quite certain his speechwriter "put something bad about Farrakhan in here for you." It's about as un-PC as you can get, but that's the point.

BULWORTH also unravels (the film, not the character) with superb direction from Beatty. He wisely chose to pick up in the middle of the story rather than over-explaining the character's origins or how he got to this pathetic place he now finds himself. There are too many situations and settings for the senator to count, which aids in our viewing pleasure. Beatty also squeezed memorable performances from virtually everyone, with Halle Berry, Oliver Platt and the cameoing Larry King deserving special mention.

On the downside, BULWORTH is hurt by excessive vulgarity. Hearing Beatty and friends muse about Arsenio Hall's nether region is painful, as are the attempts to find humor in cocaine addiction. It sometimes seems as though the writers knew they only had so much quality material and felt compelled to pad out the rest with second-rate shenanigans. Moreover, the film's rather astute social commentary morphs into outright preaching, complete with stereotypical racist cops and unimaginative Hollywood-like rants against center-right ideals.

But as mentioned, BULWORTH generally overcomes its flaws. The politically inclined will appreciate it most, but it's worth a look for anyone in the mood for an adult comedy.

Warren Beatty co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and was the star in this political satire/ comedy. He should have given the part of Bulworth to a slightly younger --and funnier actor.Beatty just isn't funny. When you see a movie that continually tells you about things that everyone knows (money in the U.S.A. is not fairly distributed)..and other social in-justices, it becomes tiresome. At times i felt I should have been laughing, .... but its so "clever" and so very "witty" --(and repetitive)), i just watched and watched. The relationship between Bulworth and Tina (Halle Berry)has ..zero..chemistry, and is a little ridiculous. This was NOT Berries finest hour !! The film walks the fine line between humor and politics. It is an average piece of work--strangely not funny--and easy to forget.