Who's Your Audience

Remember that really gross guy in high school that always showed up at parties, despite the fact that he was never invited, and stood around getting disgustingly smashed while hitting on every tail that passed by him? Remember him? You thought you were rid of him. Alas, Philip Seymour Hoffman brings him back to the forefront of your mind almost every time he appears on the screen. In "Charlie Wilson's War," he plays a sleazy CIA agent whose territory includes Afghanistan. His brash temper and contemptible demeanor make us despise him. Alas, he is the CIA's pawn (who isn't?) in a cause that includes territory and the almighty dollar as opposed to the establishment of a solid foundation on which a tribal people may finally rest.

I'm not really a fan of Julia Roberts. I just never could understand that Oscar she won for Erin Brokovich (I don't even feel like looking that up to make sure it's spelled right). But, she was BRILLIANT as Joanne Herring in Charlie Wilson's War. Her make-up was simply ruthless and handsome. And, after I googled Joanne, I realized that one of the scenes in the film was from an infamous Roman orgy-inspired birthday party that one of her husband's threw for her where women were auctioned off. She has her own website. You should check it out: www.joanneherring.com/. Roberts was made for this roll—statuesque and confident with an aire of disdain. In fact, I was bored unless Roberts as Herring was on the screen. Ah to live of life of the cafe society. The only problem is, you'd have to sleep with wrinkly old men to maintain your lavish jewels.

Tom Hanks, of course, was the perfect selection for Charlie Wilson. Always womanizing, always drinking, always liberalizing...but nonetheless likeable. The movie portrayed him as a womanizer with a heart of gold. Is it possible? He probably seemed to think so. So do most pimps. But because we like Hanks, we kind of end up liking Charlie Wilson.

I'm tired now. Tired of thinking about how all of these folks with their botox-injected skin pockets and diamond-encrusted toothpicks are determining the fate of nations. I'll just let it rest and leave you with something to ponder:

"It's very hard to be a woman. It isn't enough to be supposedly intelligent, you have to be glamorous and elegant, too. And if you're not, men are very disappointed. If I only had to put on a tie and run a rag over my shoes, that would be just wonderful." —Joanne Herring