Bulworth – Review

Bulworth is a fairly unique and sneakily good satire featuring Californian Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (Beatty) who suffers a nervous breakdown and takes a hit out on himself. Set in mid-90s politics on the doorstep of a new Millenium, the Democratic senator is clearly losing his mind, struggling to embark on the final stretch of his campaign. He rewatches his TV spots on repeat as the late-night sky dumps rain and flashes lightning. He sobs.

Early the following morning, the Senator’s office is buzzing with activity. The new spots are playing absolutely huge, so there is excitement despite being down a few points. Bulworth heads to his press conference and repeats his usual verbiage on automatic mode, then meets his “loving” wife Constance (Baranski) for a quick photo op.

As he gets a quick doctor’s checkup, it is clear that the Senator is a bit more than checked out. He has not eaten or slept for three days. A psychiatrist is recommended, but Bulworth moves on. His next morning appointment is with his insurance agent and lobbyist Graham Crockett (Sorvino), who complains about regulation, upcoming bills, and especially the inclusion of “lazy welfare taking rap singing punks” which drives up his company’s policy costs. However, this is quickly forgotten as Bulworth takes out a 10-million-dollar life insurance policy on himself.

Using his Senatorial connections, he next finds a hitman, and takes out a job to whack himself. He gives his schedule of travels and demands to be dead by Monday morning. This does not help the mental state of the deteriorating man. Coincidentally, CSPAN is doing a televised “24-hour on the campaign trail” special, for all weekend. Cameraman Gary (Astin) is locked onto the Senator, especially with him acting strangely.

As this set-up proves, this movie is a bit on edge at all times, however with this dynamic shift comes a freedom for the Senator, who all of a sudden feels like he is able to say exactly what he thinks and feels as opposed to his usual recycled campaign speech trash. This new shift arrives quickly as his scheduled stop at an African-American church where he absolutely unloads the truth of politicians not giving a shit about minority groups unless it’s for a campaign boost or photo opportunity.

The crowd of church goers is very unsure how to receive the blunt and honest message, however the Senator immediately makes fans. He recruits some of the cute girls looking to get involved in politics and volunteer, including Nina (Berry).

The dynamic of the movie continues to evolve by introducing this newly free-thinking-and-speaking Senator, unrestricted by life’s troubles as he thinks it is about to end anyway. He is infatuated with Nina, and her life, upbringing and general life experience. This opens his eyes to some realities of underserved communities, and the lingering effects of racism that the U.S. can’t seem to shake.

I feel like even when it came out, people were unsure what to make of Bulworth and its smart script went over the heads of some viewers mistaking it for some kind of spoof. It is definitely a political comedy, and has plenty of satire, but it is mostly played straight and comes off as predominantly genuine. The mixing of black and white culture fits perfectly into the political oddball story presented, and this movie covers some serious ground in racial issues as well as problems with government programs.

Thankfully, all the racism, classism and poverty issues of the 1990s have been solved by the time of this 2025 writing.

/sarcasm.

The cast is very good and is able to balance the tightwire act of the script. This was the first time I saw Don Cheadle, and he immediately stood out. The soundtrack is also fire, and gave us Ghetto Superstar. This is a very interesting movie on many levels, with most all of the frustration vented during its runtime still applicable today, or things have gotten even worse.

Take a page from Bulworth who is finally seeing things clearly for once: have a drink, smoke a joint, and live your life.