The idea of making a film based on the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney resonates with all the excitement of a documentary on the history of paint drying. But director/writer Adam McKay's "Vice" ignores the potentially boring elements to examine the rise of Cheney (Christian Bale) from a political second banana to a man so in love with power he convinces George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) to give him more authority than any VP has known.
It's as if McKay took the silliness of politics he embraced with his story for the 2012 Will Ferrell comedy offering "The Campaign" and the explanatory structure of his 2015 film "The Big Short" to make "Vice." McKay manages to make the story of Cheney _ who served four Republican presidents _ a slightly interesting look at the complicated world of politics, the obsessive need for power and the Shakespearian relationship between Cheney and his wife, Lynne (Amy Adams).
McKay's direction has Bale _ who gained 40 pounds for the role _ playing Cheney like he had stepped out of a production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." The young Cheney seems destined to a life of obscurity and DUIs until he's reined in by his new wife. He goes from being the life of the party to a major force in the Republican Party. Cheney will do anything to move to a place that gives him more power.
The film's full of solid performances, including Rockwell's portrayal of George W. Bush, which makes the president look entirely incompetent while still the most likable person in the production. Steve Carell turns in an equally solid performance as Donald Rumsfeld, the man who went from supporting Cheney to being cast aside when no longer needed.
Adams is equally strong as Mrs. Cheney, a woman who's the perfect match for her power-hungry husband. The weakest moment comes when McKay gets a little too cute with his filmmaking and opts for the Cheneys to carry off a conversation as if they were in a Shakespearean production.
Bale turns in one of his best performances in bringing Cheney to life. The problem is the most interesting part of Dick Cheney is his Machiavellian way of dealing with politics. That makes for an interesting story, but on the surface, Cheney has the emotional range of a fire hydrant.
"Vice" is loaded with scenes where it is obvious McKay took liberties with the dialogue (he says so at the start). The liberties that must be taken with a script is the constant bane of any movie based on real people, as it requires the audience to be forgiving. McKay cheats when it comes to how the film is presented from a liberal slant by pointing a finger at himself. It's another gimmicky moment that's not necessary because "Vice" is a feature film and not a documentary.
"Vice" works as an examination of the strange world of politics through the focus of one man. McKay has been showing an understanding of how the weirdest of worlds in his recent work, and that's enough to make "Vice" worth embracing.
