Movie Review: "Vice" Is Another American Tragedy From the Director of "Anchorman"

Vice is for political junkies who can handle more than one wild White House at a time.

Given his long, cinematic history of capturing blowhard idiots who fail upwards at extreme velocity, writer-director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers) seems destined to make a movie about the Trumps sooner or later.

Until that fateful day arrives, he’s dipping his toes in the water with an earlier White House occupant, documenting the unlikely rise of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and the methods by which he mangled and expanded executive power under George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11.

It’s recent American history, except 'recent' is a relative term, given how quickly U.S. politics moves. This review was written weeks ago, and there was no way of knowing then what the world would look like when it was published. I wondered, "Is there even going to be an America by late December?"

If, indeed, the world has been reduced to ash and rubble, and you’re hunting oxen or grabbing salmon right out of the stream just to stay alive, you’re probably less concerned with the merits of McKay’s Vice.

If society should remain standing… well, you still better read this thing quickly because who knows how long that’ll last.

Christian Bale, in his latest body-ruining transformation, stars as Cheney throughout the ages. First, he plays the eventual Vice President as a go-nowhere screw-up, lucky to have girlfriend Lynne (Amy Adams) egging him on to greater successes. Next, Bale’s Cheney learns to shut up and stay connected, interning for Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell) in the Nixon administration, getting out while the getting’s good. As Cheney’s gut and jowls grow ever larger, so too does his resume. Finally, another go-nowhere screw-up made good, George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell, hot dog), asks Cheney if he’ll consider leaving retirement to be his VP. It’s a ceremonial job, but Cheney, who has long craved ultimate power, sees an opportunity to expand the job’s breadth under an inattentive commander-in-chief. McKay cuts to fishing footage as Cheney reels Bush in.

This is, as far as presidential-adjacent biopics go, a spicy take, and as the opening narration (from Jesse Plemons, in a mysterious role) explains, Cheney remains one of the most secretive figures in political history. An opening title card says "we did our f***ing best" when it comes to sticking to the facts. Elsewhere, McKay has Dick and Lynne recite a Shakespearean soliloquy in lieu of knowing precisely what they said.

Like I said: spicy.

McKay did something similar in The Big Short, attempting to explain the global financial crisis for punters in the audience with fourth wall-breaking asides. Vice, however, treads into more comedic territory (including a hilarious head-fake early ending). Bale is shockingly up to the task. He indeed looks like Cheney in his later years, yet he’s happy to be surreally goofy in the part. Bale’s such a good chameleon, he can throw performances like this over his shoulder as if it was nothing.

Everyone else joins in on the fun, including Adams, who nonetheless has to do much of the dramatic heavy-lifting. Carell’s Rumsfeld is basically a mean Brick Tamland, and Rockwell’s George Dubya is so big I was surprised he didn’t start bootscooting in the Situation Room.

This also means Vice is a lot broader than The Big Short, which honestly felt like the work of genius; a confluence of great comedic talent married with historical tragedy (it helped being based on a Michael Lewis book). McKay’s latest effort, with its rocket-speed and heavy doses of dramatic irony, feels like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 or its 2018 sequel, Fahrenheit 11/9, which focused on President Trump. And though the Donald isn’t mentioned during Vice, the ramifications of Cheney’s tenure are suggested to have led directly to his reign. Sure, Vice is a comedy, but when the montage of 'America today' brings the picture to its crescendo, the laughs definitely stop.

3.5/5

In Australian cinemas Boxing Day. Rated M for mature themes and coarse language.

Header Image: Entertainment One