But while Stone’s conception of the movie is quite solid, it never would have worked without a strong cast to bring his ideas to life. Fortunately, Stone managed to assemble an excellent group of actors. James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn brilliantly embody George Sr. and Barbara Bush, creating a perfectly emotionally abusive environment to foster Dub-ya. Scott Glenn’s Donald Rumsfeld and Toby Jones’ Karl Rove perfectly embody the sleazy political backbone of Bush’s White House, while Richard Dreyfus is clearly having a ball portraying the subtle evil of Dick Cheney. Jeffrey Wright also does a wonderful job of playing Colon Powell as the only dissenting voice in Bush’s cabinet and Elizabeth Banks perfectly captures the vapid indifference of Laura Bush Thandie Newton deserves special notice for her creepy embodiment of Condoleezza Rice, even if she’s also the only performer to verge dangerously close to caricature. And then there’s Josh Brolin, who so thoroughly embodies Bush that it’s almost creepy. He not only nails the voice, facial ticks, and mannerisms of the president, but also manages to create a fully formed character beneath all of the easily parodied Bush-isms. It’s a wonderful piece of acting that proves why Brolin’s stock has risen so quickly in Hollywood.

Overall, W. is an undeniable success. It is a fair and honest portrayal of an icon of stupidity that rouses quite a few laughs without ever being a full-on comedy. The only real problem is that the movie is rather slight. There are no dramatic statements made or truths revealed that any informed audience member won’t already know before entering the theater. However, in the end this seems oddly appropriate for the subject matter. Bush is not a substantial man. He is very much the average Joe that he always presented himself to be in his campaigns and as a result, is every bit as flawed as the average man. He isn’t an evil warlord, but an undereducated and unprepared leader who had a group of advisors lacking a strong moral compass (even if they did have the faith that was supposed to be their moral guide). This is the movie George Bush deserves and it is quite an achievement that Stone was able to make it while Georgey boy is still in office. It’s another stellar presidential flick for Stone that will sit proudly alongside JFK and Nixon, even if it isn’t quite as powerful a film as those two political masterpieces.