Charlie Wilson's War opens with the title character (Tom Hanks), a drinking, drug-using, womanizing congressman from Texas, receiving the highest civilian award given by the CIA for his actions in delivering "a lethal body blow" to the Soviet insurgence in Afghanistan, essentially spelling the beginning of the end of the Cold War. Without his efforts, they acclaim, "History would be sadly different."

With this auspicious opening scene, the stage is set for a story told in flashback.

The first 10 minutes of the movie alone earn it its R-rating. We see at least four pairs of bare breasts in a hot tub, a couple of bare behinds (I'm wondering if Hanks used a butt double?), and plenty of drinking and cocaine usage -- and that's just Wilson in a hot tub for 5 minutes. I took my 69-year-old mother with me to see the film. She was not amused.

During the hot tub scene, Wilson sees Dan Rather reporting from Afghanistan about the war the Mujahedin are fighting against the Red Army with little to no weaponry. When Wilson returns to Washington, he uses his position on the Foreign Affairs Committee to double the funding in support of Afghanistan's fight against America's greatest adversary during the Cold War.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Oscar winning actor for Capote) is introduced as Gust ("Gus with a ‘T'") Avrakotos, the out-of-favor CIA agent who is arguing with his new division chief over being given a bad assignment. The F-word is used predominantly, both in these opening scenes and along with plenty of other expletives throughout the film. Nonetheless, Hoffman is a compelling actor and it's hard to take your eyes off the guy.

Enter Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring, a rich Texas socialite who proclaims "Jesus Christ is my personal Savior" as she kisses and flirts and beds pretty much anyone she wants and raises awareness of the plight of the Afghan people while separating her mascara-laden lashes with a safety pin (don't grimace, we've all done it!). Roberts looks like a young woman playing an older woman, and the wigs definitely conjure memories of Ann Richards.

Herring's tactic is to befriend the heads of other nations and point out that the Afghan Mujahedin are fighting a "holy war." This does not go over well since "America doesn't fight religious wars." Her relationship with Wilson begins after he doubles the U.S. appropriations budget for aid to Afghanistan.

He goes to both Pakistan and Afghanistan to see firsthand the trouble the poor Afghans are in. He interacts with people in the refugee camps, sees children who are maimed after playing with bombs disguised as toys, and hears the stories of Russian atrocities against the Afghans. We can assume his heart is torn by what he sees, but this just doesn't come across very well on the screen. A little much-needed vulnerability and introspection in Wilson's character would have gone a long way.

There is a wide-panning shot of the refugee camp thrown in that seems an homage to that cinematic moment in Gone with the Wind where the camera pans back from the bodies of several dead and wounded soldiers to reveal literally acres and acres of dead and dying men lying on the ground around the railroad tracks in Atlanta. The refugee scene is meant to touch and overwhelm, but instead it comes across as mechanical and slightly manipulative. It's too contrived in this movie, given the tone.

Wilson eventually makes the decision to help the Afghans obtain better weapons to "shoot down Russian helicopters," a theme that is reiterated throughout the movie. Wilson, Avrakotos, and Herring actually manage a coup de grace by getting the Israelis, Pakistanis, and Egyptians -- sworn enemies, all -- to work together covertly to arm the Afghans and push back the Soviets.

A scandal arises involving the imbibing Congressman, threatening to knock the wheels off the wagon of Wilson's covert efforts. His penchant for hanging out with drug users causes the question to be raised as to whether or not the Congressman has ever been to Rehab, to which his beautiful assistant, known as Jail Bait, replies, "He considered it once but changed his mind when he discovered they didn't carry Scotch."

Charlie Wilson's story as told here is somewhat amusing and has a fair amount of historical veracity. But I get the impression from the choppy up way the story is told that most of the good stuff is probably still lying somewhere on John Bloom's editing floor. This is unexpected, as are so many other things about this movie. Bloom is a 40-year film veteran who has edited the likes of The Lion in Winter, The Glass Menagerie, and Ghandi.

The political asides and covert wrangling depicted in the film rang true throughout, at least to this daughter of a political family. Most policy in America springs from conversations between power brokers in back hallways and kitchens at cocktail parties, on the bus after a political rally, and during kid's birthday parties. Take my word for it ... been there, done that. So the wheeling and dealing in hot tubs and the like were not a real stretch from reality.

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay, is one of my very favorite writers. His writing is usually poignant, sometimes tender, sometimes biting, and quite often genuinely funny. Watch just about any episode of The West Wing and I dare you not to say "WOW" at the end. However, I saw very little of his trademark sophistication in this screenplay.

It may have had more to do with the delivery and editing than the writing, though. Fake accents and uneven scenes abound, marked by choppy editing ... a surprise, considering the caliber of cast and crew on this project. It tried too hard and there was precious little subtlety, often making the film feel more like a made-for-TV drama than a major studio release with a top A-list cast.

Though the story deals with serious subject matter, it did have its share of amusing moments, thanks to Hanks' portrayal and Sorkin's script. For example, Wilson's congressional office is staffed by beautiful, young, décolletage-exposed women known as "Charlie's Angels" who at first glance seem as dumb as dirt, but who we later realize are as smart as they are pretty.

If there was one shining light in the movie, it had to be Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He is always a compelling actor -- a cinematic magnet. He "held" every scene in which he appeared; it was difficult to take my eyes off the guy. His was the most genuine performance, and his were the sentiments that summed up the whole movie.

I won't tell you how it ends, except to say his final scene was the most poignant moment in the film, and it speaks to the American government's pattern of political choices in dealing with past foreign wars and weapons involvement that have probably led us to where we are today. It is the "lesson" of the movie and one that is well taken, despite the less than sophisticated manner in which it is conveyed. And, the use of the text quotes at the end of the film drove the "lesson" of the movie home: "We always leave ..."

Charlie Wilson's War is a surprise, and not necessarily in a good way. It's just ... OK. Not great, not rousing, not epic -- which, considering the veteran cast and crew working on this project, makes its mediocrity a surprise. I expected a story of espionage and intrigue overlayed by the amusing antics of a 007-wannabe, womanizing congressman, but instead got a movie that tries way too hard to tell a true story that could have struck a chord, had it not been so heavily "Hollywood-ized." I expected more from Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols.

Wait for the DVD and rent it. Or, if nudity, expletives, and drug use offend you, wait for the TV version -- at least you'll get less of that.
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