Bulworth (1998)
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75% of critics liked it
(65 reviews) -
59% of users liked it
(19,991 ratings)
Warren Beatty directed, co-produced (with Pieter Jan Brugge), co-scripted (with Jeremy Pikser), and stars in this political satire, a comedy drama about a U.S. senator who decides to start speaking the truth. Despondent California senator Jay Bulworth (Beatty), up for re-election, is disillusioned… More Warren Beatty directed, co-produced (with Pieter Jan Brugge), co-scripted (with Jeremy Pikser), and stars in this political satire, a comedy drama about a U.S. senator who decides to start speaking the truth. Despondent California senator Jay Bulworth (Beatty), up for re-election, is disillusioned by the usual campaign banalities; his marriage to Constance (Christine Baranski) seems equally hollow. In the midst of a nervous breakdown, Bulworth goes without sleep or food for three days and takes out a ten-million-dollar insurance policy on himself while arranging his own assassination. Drinking during a return to Los Angeles, Bulworth is scheduled to speak at an African-American church in South Central L.A. Once there, he tosses aside his prepared speech, startling both the audience and his campaign manager, Murphy (Oliver Platt), by improvising truthful remarks instead of the familiar rhetoric. These loose-cannon salvos gain the attention of an attractive young woman, Nina (Halle Berry). Bulworth finds an exhilaration with this new freestyle approach, and after shocking a gathering in Beverly Hills with further fulminations, Bulworth invites Nina and her girlfriends into his limo. During a spaced-out sojourn at one of South Central's more frenzied after-hours clubs, Bulworth gains respect for hip-hop culture.Still reeling from insights gained by this nightlife, he arrives the next day for a fundraising function at the Beverly Wilshire, startling everyone with a diatribe delivered in the intonations of a rap artist. His interest in Nina and his new optimistic outlook on life give Bulworth a sense of elation and a will to live. He phones to call off the hit, but the gears have been set in motion. After an assumed hitman turns up during a church appearance, Bulworth flees, and Nina offers him a safe-house hideout at the home of her family, veterans of the civil rights movement. Here Bulworth goes through the final steps in his transformation -- making a Kennedy-styled connection with the disenfranchised as he tunes in to forgotten memories of the '60s. Outfitted in homeboy clothing, the born-again Bulworth heads for a TV station to unleash even more caustic comments on the American political scene. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Directed By
- Warren Beatty
- Written By
- Jeremy Pikser, Warren Beatty
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
R,
- In Theaters
- May 22, 1998 Wide
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
Critic Reviews
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
It's a sharp, brave movie, a little ragged around the edges, but that's to its advantage.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
What gives Bulworth its unique character is that all this silliness is periodically punctuated by cogent, carefully thought-out mini-manifestos...
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Bulworth works, with both urbanity and chutzpah, by viewing political puppeteering with an all-purpose jaundiced eye.
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Charles Taylor, Salon.com
As writer, director and star, Beatty flails all over the screen, but he's also made the only recent political satire that draws blood.
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Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
A shrewd political observer for decades, Beatty has fashioned a hilarious morality tale that delivers a surprisingly potent, angry message beneath the laughs.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Warren Beatty
as Jay Bulworth
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Halle Berry
as Nina
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Don Cheadle
as L.D.
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Oliver Platt
as Dennis Murphy
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Paul Sorvino
as Graham Crockett
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Jack Warden
as Eddie Davers
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Isaiah Washington
as Darnell
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Joshua Malina
as Bill Feldman
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Christine Baranski
as Constance Bulworth
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Richard C. Sarafian
as Vinnie
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Amiri Baraka
as Rastaman
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Sean Astin
as Gary
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Laurie Metcalf
as Mimi
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Wendell Pierce
as Fred
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Michèle Morgan
as Cheryl
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Ariyan Johnson
as Tanya
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Graham Beckel
as Man with Dark Glasses
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Nora Dunn
as Missy Berliner
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Jackie Gayle
as Macavoy
- George Furth
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Helen Martin
as Nina's Mother
