SummaryA 'tragic-farce,' Bulworth takes a comedic look at race and class in the United States, campaign finance, and the power of big money and media in America. [Twentieth Century Fox]
Directed By:Warren Beatty
Written By:Warren Beatty, Jeremy Pikser
Bulworth
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
75
86% Positive
24 Reviews
24 Reviews
14% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
Beatty has fashioned a hilarious morality tale that delivers a surprisingly potent, angry message beneath the laughs.
88
A brilliant and astounding black comedy.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.6
52% Positive
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
39% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
9% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Mar 9, 2016
8
A brilliant political satire, Bulworth is hysterical and incredibly politically poignant. Criticizing all elements of the American political system, Bulworth gleefully pulls back the cover of how little these politicians care about anybody who does not make them rich. Warren Beatty is brilliant in this off-beat and quirky comedy, as are Halle Berry and Don Cheadle. The writing is great and the characterizations equally so. However, my favorite part was certainly the little touches throughout. I don't really have a specific example, but images in the background or a small reference here and there that were absolutely fantastic. In its use of sight gags, Bulworth is similar to an Abrahams, Zucker, and Zucker, 80s comedy, except politically focused. Overall, Bulworth is a fantastic film that really skewers the government, its lies, and how much it really sells its soul to get rich.
Jul 29, 2022
6
Despite being a film that is almost 25 years old, by that time Bulworth wasn't really going into uncharted territory about how those willing to shell out anything for influence and power are the true masters of politics and power in the US. It's a film that explores the discomfort with the failures of the system and even within the humorous spectrum, makes more than one pointed criticism of it.
Perhaps not everything goes Warren Beatty's way, but the criticism is far from inaccurate. It certainly ends up being messier than I would've liked and has some areas of the narrative that feel pointless, especially Beatty's character's romance with Halle Berry's character, but overall it pulls through just fine. Maybe not well enough, but as far as it goes it's completely watchable.
80
There are some cheap shots, and there's an argument to be made about whether the film is sending up stereotypes or simply perpetuating them. But for every dubious moment, there are plenty that connect.
80
There are extreme moments that lurch between inspired absurdity and near failure -- but as a ballsy movie about human politics with no correctness in sight, it's a triumph.
70
One can be forgiven for leaving the theater feeling a modicum of hope, and for that we owe Warren Beatty something.
63
To his credit, Beatty has designed Bulworth along the classic lines of Shakespeare's Fool -- the antic truth-speaker who has the ear of the court.
50
As a movie, it's a disaster. As political speech, it's imprecise, shrill and sometimes clichéd, but it's also alive.
Apr 10, 2015
4
What starts out as an apt satire on the politician's role in American society spirals off into a muddled, politically sketchy head-scracther, featuring God-awful ADR/mixing and a fundamentally unsatisfying conclusion.
Production Company:
- 20th Century Fox
Release Date:May 19, 1998
Duration:1 h 48 m
Rating:R
Tagline:Brace yourself.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 3 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA
• 2 Nominations
