Back in 1998, it was hard to see where US politics were going. Warren Beatty took a wild stab with Bulworth, and while the result certainly made a connection with audiences and critics at the time, the cultural legacy would seem limited to the hit song on the soundtrack, Ghetto Superstar. But contemporary reactions only go so far; Bulworth, like other 20th Century Fox products, now finds an unlikely home on Disney+ channel, ready to be piped into the homes of the unsuspecting, and who knows what the kids on the street will make of all this now?
The high-concept scenario presumably reflects some of Beatty’s own anxieties; Bulworth is an older man who has missed out on his youth, and re-invents himself in a way that young people can relate to; a marijuana-smoking, speed-rapping, anti-authority outsider who shakes up the political establishment. If that sounds vain-glorious, then sure, but that’s Beatty’s thing; you can’t accuse films like Shampoo and Reds of being low-profile, and that’s what made them personal triumphs for the star. So to play politician Bulworth, Beatty crafted an overlapping set of reasons for his conversion; is it the attentions of black activist Nina (Halle Berry), the mind-expanding drugs he’s taking, or his proximity to death due to the hit-man Bulworth engages to murder himself for insurance money, and now can’t be contacted?
The plot is convoluted, but that’s fine if there’s a comic reason to do so, and Bulworth the movie certainly delivers a spectacle when Bulworth the politician loses his inhibitions and starts rapping. His rhymes are truth-telling, and what’s remarkable here is that specific names are named and corporations are shamed; this simply wouldn’t be allowed to happen in 2022. In his crumpled dark suit and thin red tie, Bulworth uses his high media profile to gain cross-political popularity and traction with non-affiliated voters, but it’s not just about a salesman image; Bulworth attacks both Republican and Democrat parties as being corrupt and not serving the people, promising to drain the swamp of corruption. As a movie, Bulworth seems to anticipate the recent rise of non-political ‘celebrity’ media figures in US politics, yet the fantasy is powerful enough to appeal to all; Obama frequently joked about his own personal desire to ‘do a Bulworth’ while in office and tell the truth about what he saw.
Bulworth is set at a particular moment in time where cell-phones and the internet don’t exist, but The Simpsons do; the social media wave hasn’t hit, and yet media manipulation of politics are portrayed as having already merged in a dangerous way. While his rapping isn’t exactly Wu Tang-level, Beatty’s film has a dynamic, if not revolutionary view of the political world, leavened with wry jokes and complete with a shock ending. Beatty holds it together as star, writer, director and producer, together with a top-notch team behind the camera, from Vitorrio Storaro to Dean Tavalouris to Ennio Morricone. When the world was seeking fin de siècle visions of the future as the millennium approached, Beatty delivered one that’s bang on viewed from twenty five years after it was made. Not enough attention has been paid to this flawed but pertinent film, although that might be attributed to the unfortunate bait and switch criminality of this widely-seen pop video below that features some weird latex mask horror that is notably absent from Beatty’s cogent, cynical, prophetic film.
Bulworth is now streaming on Disney +
I saw this in an introductory film class in college (it was for non-film majors and the only film class I’ve ever taken) and it was a bit of a revelation to me at the time….I hadn’t paid much attention to politics you yet and hadn’t seen many satires or films like this that were funny but with a sharp point. Might be one to revisit, although these days I want to escape thoughts of politicians completely when watching films.
I hear you! Politics is dramatic enough these days, so satire is almost redundant. 1998 really is another world, we thought we were living on the cutting age of tech, but it’s stone-age compared to now…and that’s not meccessarily a good thing!
Saw this at the time and remember being disappointed – fairly obvious targets and crass characterisation – though of course politicians will do and say anything to get elected. Certainly, may stand up better now. Surprised given his vanity that Beatty never actually stood for election. Shame he didn’t because then we would be guaranteed a constant stream of tell all scandals.
Biskind’s book on Beatty is a cracker. I get that Bulworth is kind of old hat now, but it does correctly predict the rise of the celebrity politician. It’s a quality film, and feels more precient now than it did at the time.
You are right about the celebrity politician. I found Beatty untrustworthy in his story about Bonnie & Clyde.
And I rewatched Bonnie and Clyde and wasn’t impressed. But still like Reds…
Did you see the Kevin Costner Bonnie and Clyde film?
The Highwaymen, yes, I liked it…
So did I. With the right subject matter, Costner still shines.
Three Days to Kill is one of his better later-period works, but agreed; he’s still got it.
They used to bring back stars like him in bigger budget top roles but his days in the big time seem long gone.
Sounds OK for an oldie.
It’s better than most old films.
I saw this just a couple of years ago and I honestly can’t remember a thing about it now. I guess it was prescient in some ways, but the cultural environment has certainly changed in unanticipated ways. Everything pre-Internet seems like the 19th century now.
Fin de siècle.
Merci, mon petit chou…yup, the world is very different to when I saw this movie in Portland, Oregon back in 1998. But it’s a playbook for what a non-political figure might say to engage the public to cover up for his own criminality, so that’s surely something?