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

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.

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....

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.

I am not a big Will Ferrell fan. I cannot think of a single movie he has made that I enjoyed. That said, I have to admit that he totally personified George W. Bush in this performance. I couldn't even see Ferrell. All I saw throughout was W.

His excellent performance notwithstanding, the show itself was not particularly funny. There is nothing funny about George W. Bush. The pain that he has caused first in Texas, and then on the whole country is no laughing matter. I really tried to find something to laugh at, but I sat there like a deer caught in the headlights the entire time.

Trying to make us laugh at W. is like trying to make us laugh at cancer.

Even though I've watched this more than 6 years after it came out, the solid writing and the well-timed comedic touches still felt as fresh. I assumed Mr. Ferrell had a team of writers contribute to the show while viewing it, but it turns out he has adopted the character so closely that the writing was all his. And he runs through it without a hitch in a well-choreographed, well-directed, and extremely well-acted play.

You're likely to enjoy it even when you don't usually like his movies. This is not a self-celebratory liberal bashing of George W. Bush at all. You may even sympathize with the guy for being put in a place that turned out to be more demanding than he possibly expected. Definitely worth checking it out...