Let's be realistic.

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie saddens me. The cast is great, performances great, locations and camera work all great. There are multiple problems with the movie though. First, it misses the boat on it's subject. Gov. Huey P. Long was one of the most colorful political figures of any age. Sean Penn gives a great portrayal of Long (despite having his wardrobe all wrong) but the movie veers away from his story and concentrates too much on Jude Law's character. While Law's character is interesting, it feels like the movie is more about him than Long. Secondly, why take one of the most compelling true political stories of all time and turn it into a work of fiction? For instance, this movie has Long being shot in the state capitol on the day of his impeachment hearing. In reality, Long had already moved on to the Senate when he was shot down. All the right elements were in place here except an accurate story. It is a disgrace that this movie shares the same title as the superior 1949 movie with Broderick Crawford. Watch it instead.

Director Steven Zallian appears NOT to have got the best out of his stars, Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo and James Gandolfini. They all give us below par performances. Sean Penn (an excellent actor) is terrible in this. He is in the lead role and is so bad...he is almost funny. When a movies lead actor is not functioning, the movie is in dire straights...before the cue ball has been touched. Its very possible that the other principle actors were so surprised by Penns inadequacies, that they just switched off. After the first scene, Zalliain should have had a long chat with Penn, and told him to play the character he was supposed to be playing (maybe he did !!). Whatever..this is a very poor motion picture. In the D.V.D. extras one of the actors said he felt he had such a great time...and the parties were amazing (or words like that). Under another director this could have been a pretty good movie. As it is, this is messy and not worth watching.

I just can't imagine how this film did not generate more money at the box office. Look at the star-studded cast: Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, just to name a few. You have three Oscar winners in that crop of stars. I mean on name recognition alone more people should have gone to see it. Penn did a great job in his role as Willie Stark. Penn is an avid political activist and it was great to see him play a politician in one of his films. His role as Harvey Milk was better than this but still the Willie Stark character was one that no one else would have played better. I had to read the book for an English class back in high school and I have to say that while the book was better, the film was great as well. The film has an interesting storyline just like the book and each character in the film plays the one that they should have played. Anthony Hopkins was great as Judge Irwin but it was quite different to see Hopkins play someone other than a villain. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone has an interest in politics and is a fan of Penn's because he really played this part incredibly well.

"All the kings men" may be the biggest snub in Oscar history. I cant say i remember any of the bad press or reviews. Im not even sure when i first heard about it, but i certainly remember the first time i watched it. As far as movies go its just about perfect. I really don't understand how anybody could have a negative opinion of this film. Sean Penn is amazing as Willie Stark. His performance must be ranked with the all time greats. The script,score,directing,editing, and supporting cast are all equally magnificent. From beginning to end this film does not disappoint. If you appreciate cinema this is a must see. Don't let the bad reviews fool you this film is a masterpiece.