You're Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush

I've noticed that any review here that says this was not funny tends to be voted down whereas any review that says it was funny is voted useful, quality of writing seems to be out of the equation and the politics of the situation appear to be the all, because obviously liberals will love anything that mocks conservatives while only red neck racists would not love this film, right? Well, it will make no difference (to borrow a phrase, "haters gonna hate") but as a white, middle class male in my 30's who watches the Daily Show and is "liberal" in most issues, I should have been target audience for this and, if I'm honest I did watch it because I expected to find Bush easy to laugh at and for my own opinions to be reaffirmed in the meantime.

Problem is that this film is so incredibly basic that it just doesn't work. If you take it as an attempt at political satire then it is a total fail because there is almost nothing clever in here; considering the Daily Show ate well for years off the Bush presidency and produced constant material that was as funny as it was cutting. There is nothing here that even comes close. So OK, maybe that is me being unfair to the material because it is clearly not trying to be a biting satire but rather just a basic mocking of Bush based on the idea that he is dumb and fake. This is not anything new and it is a pretty well mined seam for the film to try and get something out of, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Problem is that the material is just crude and unfunny without any real invention or wit – the biggest laughs from the crowd come due to a picture of a penis. Add to that the fact that we have almost 3 minutes given over to a moment where Condoleezza Rice does an erotic dance for Bush (in a bit so painful I wondered if it would ever end) and you're starting to get the idea. In fairness it is a Will Ferrell film so one should not be surprised and it does play to the teenage boy market rather anyone used to their political comedy being either (a) political, or (b) funny.

Ferrell is not a good impressionist but, like the material, he goes for the easy route and he vaguely gets there – I know the point is not that he is meant to look or sound particularly like Bush but it does add to the "good enough" feel the film has. Overall I was looking forward to this film but it doesn't deliver. No matter how you look at it (political satire or fish-in-barrel exercise) it isn't funny and has no wit or invention. The "Bush is dumb" line has produced some very funny material in the past, while his terrible presidency has given us some great, cutting satire – this film cannot manage to be even average in either of those camps.

Going through the history of George W. Bush, both as a man and as the 43rd President, is like dissecting a living, breathing train wreck that has a goofy look on its face like the train gave someone a wedgie before it went chuckling off the rails. Whatever your political views are, it's hard not to see Bush's flaws to one degree or another, and at the same time his status as a cultural icon (yes, icon, sad to say it's kind of true). So, Will Ferrell took a hold of that and did a one-man show as Bush going through his own history. One might see that it's just a long-form version of one of his SNL skits as Bush addressing the nation, but it also has that quality of the retrospective; this is Will Ferrell doing his own riff on that play (later Altman film) Secret Honor where Richard Nixon sat with a tape recorder going over his paranoid history as president.

For Bush, history will judge him rightly (or rightfully?), but for Ferrell it's a chance to blend history with rumor and just downright surreal exaggeration, always for comic effect. Sometimes it doesn't totally work (I grew tired of the secret service guy dancing on stage; the lighting guys have a ball but it doesn't strike up the same amount of laughs as the star), but for the most part Ferrell and his writers have a blast with actual quotes from Bush, or just pictures of people from his cabinet (I busted a gut over his line about Richard Pearl being like a "Cuddly bear"), or just going completely off the wall about things like the rumored monkeys from Morocco for Iraq to detonate land mines. It is almost too much at times, but it's never less than amusing and at times it's some of the funniest material from Ferrell in years.

Now, there will be some who may grow tired of the shtick faster than others; it's not a total laugh-a-second venture like with Ferrel's movies at their very best. There's even a few moments where there's an ironic seriousness, something about the whole show that is sobering to what the past 8 years have been like. For most fans it should be a treat, and maybe it will bring some non-fans over as well. It's crazy and smart satire with more hits than misses.

Obviously someone missed the point of this. Will Ferrell has been playing this Bush character since his days on SNL and this is that character at his best. Most level headed people that don't tie political satire with extreme political biased, will understand that it's just a big goof; George Bush himself would probably find this to be quite amusing(maybe that's a stretch, but even Bush is smart enough to see that this is satire not a serious political movie). No matter your party affiliation, if you can think with a free mind and don't take everything that Will Ferrell says to be him preaching a serious liberal agenda, you should be able to enjoy this. I mean c'mon it's Will Ferrell, after Stranger Than Fiction I don't think he'll ever be serious again.

Will Ferrell is just an amazing actor. To take 8 years of American history on his shoulders in such a funny, awkward, shocking, detailed, eyes-opened, over-the-top, superb, state-of-the-art way is just a great pleasure to watch and a relief that the real life of Mr. Bush as a president is finally over. We just loved to watch Will doing George W. As a German viewer it increased my trust in America. I could not believe my eyes and ears that something like Will Ferrell did here would be ever possibly in USA. It is the second time the past years that my respect for America is back in order. The first time it hit me in a positive way that USA voted for a president (finally) who is black and open minded, and now for a second time Will Ferrell made it possible to understand and digest the live and times of the former president. After I have seen this show my hope for USA is full of best wishes and trust in the future. You're back on track....

If you don't find this funny then you either have no sense of humor what-so-ever or you're an up tight conservative that has that stick way too far up their a**! Will Ferrell has George Bush right on the money in this. Believe me, I'm no left-winged liberal by any means but seriously if you can't laugh at this then I don't know if I could classify you as human....I find Will Ferrell childish, yes. But I think he does it better than no one else. Adam Sandler for example is funny in a childish way but he doesn't get me rolling on the ground laughing like Ferrel has a tendency to do. I could see Bush supporters getting their panties in a bunch over this but needless to say most of the depictions of Bush in this film are hilarious and true. I suggest watching this movie, gets a good laugh.