Pay attention to the first 10 minutes of Charlie Wilson's War. It tells you all you need to know about the titular Democratic Texan congressman (Tom Hanks) who, unbeknownst to many, apparently helped engineer the fall of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by championing ways to covertly fund the Afghani rebels' operation in the early '80s. As the movie opens, Wilson is sitting in a hot tub drinking booze, surrounded by a bevy of naked, busty women (and some ogling men). But he's transfixed not by the bacchanalia around him, but rather by the news unspooling on television: The Russians have invaded Afghanistan. It's a memorable beginning for a fairly entertaining movie based on the book by George Crile, as well as a succinct capsule of who Wilson is: a smart, irreverent, and surprising politico with a penchant for drink and dames. That point is driven home later when right-wing socialite Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts -- great acting, bad accent), who likes to put her money where her politics is, champions the Afghan cause and persuades Wilson to get involved after a quick romp.
Drama
2007
1 hr 41 min
82%
16+
R
Starring
Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman
