Charlie Wilson's War

Will is with my mom and sister tonight so Jana and I took the opportunity to get out and see a movie. I wanted to see Alvin and the Chipmunks, but Jana talked me into Charlie Wilson's War. Good move.

We really liked the movie. It was fast-paced and shorter than you'd expect (about 90 minutes, could/should have been longer) from an Aaron Sorkin-Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts-Mike Nichols collaboration.

You've probably read a review (most have been positive), but in case you didn't, here it is in a nutshell: an obscure playboy Texas congressman, at the behest of his Houston socialite friend, leads the charge in our country's covert funding of anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s; the success of these efforts eventually leads to the downfall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War.

Everyone did a nice job in their roles, but Philip Seymour Hoffman really stole the show with his turn as an unpolished CIA guy who knows how to get stuff done. Count Jan as one of his biggest fans. Also, Sorkin's dialogue - which I've always liked but found hard to believe in his television work - is spot on, sprinkling humor into what could be dry situations.

Here's what we took away from the story:

1. How the hell could this have been done completely covertly? An operation of this magnitude, done within our Congress, is hard to keep a secret, especially during that post-Woodward and Bernstein climate of watchdog journalism.

2. People roughly my age (32) were born a little bit too late to get the whole fear and loathing of the Soviets that came with the Cold War. Jana remembers it a little bit; she grew up near an Air Force base that her brother told her was #13 on the Soviets' list of targets were we to be at war. All I really remember is that they boycotted the 1984 Olympics, which meant more free cheeseburgers at McDonald's. Will we ever face another clear cut enemy like the Soviet Union in our lifetime?

3. The story ends with an allusion to what we know was the unfortunate aftermath of the Afghans' victory - the Taliban followed, and used the weapons we helped get them to carry out their oppression. At the end of the movie, Wilson tries to drum up meager funding for school building in Afghanistan, and says that if we don't build them we are growing our future enemies. In a sense, it gives credence to what we're currently doing in Iraq, which is sort of amazing given Sorkin's role in the movie.

If you're looking for a way to kill a couple hours over the holidays or for a DVD to rent in 4-6 months, this is a good choice.