(2004)
2.5
Fred Beldin
Essentially an infomercial for the best-selling book, the visually static Bush's Brain is earnest in its muckraking but not much of a documentary. The politically ambitious and ethically suspicious Karl Rove has his career turned inside out in a search for dirt that is possibly deeper and darker than his critics imagine. Unfortunately, directors Mealey and Shoob employ a series of talking heads and wire service photos that don't engage, resulting in a documentary that is refreshingly free of Michael Moore-style histrionics but also duller than the average television news broadcast. For the politically jaded viewer, the litany of personal smears, office buggings, and ruined careers will draw only a token shrug. So the most powerful politicians in America are corrupt? What else is new? It would take a headless corpse in a field to suggest anything truly beyond the pale is happening here, which is an indictment of our system as a whole rather than one individual dirty pooler. This leads to the real problem with Bush's Brain, which is its usefulness as a political tool in discussing one of America's most polarizing presidents. Those suspicious of the Bush presidency will be underwhelmed by charges they already take for granted; those who support the president and his regime will decide the end justifies the means; and those whose minds are not made up yet will simply be bored by Bush's Brain and its monotonous visual style.
awards for Bush's Brain on AllMovie
Bush's Brain (2004)
Cinequest Film Festival
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