Vice                                       4 stars

In what has to be one of the zaniest movies of the year screenwriter Adam McKay and actor Christian Bale take on a biopic of Vice-President Dick Cheney, following him from a drunk and college drop out to becoming the most powerful man in the world as the VP to George W. Bush.  Bale does an amazing job of immersing himself in the part, gaining over 40 pounds to become the short speckles wearing Cheney.  He has the speech patterns and mannerisms down perfectly.  The film takes us through many decades as Cheney takes an assignment working for Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell), becomes Chief of Staff for President Ford, Secretary of Defense for President George H. W. Bush and finally the VP to George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell in another great performance)  The film does an outlandish take on everything you may remember from the Bush administration, the Iraq war, the surveillance of US citizens, the enhanced interrogation techniques and the black sites for holding prisoners.  We see how he took control of the situation during 9/11 while Bush was still on Air Force One.  Cheney’s brashness is sometimes shown in comedic fashion as he doesn’t hesitate tell others what needs to be done.  Especially enlightening is his conversation with Bush before he accepts the nomination when he suggests that the Vice President take care of mundane things like foreign policy, intelligence, budgetary matters and defense leaving the president take handle the important things.  The film also takes time to show a softer side of him in the moments with his wife Lynne (Amy Adams, which you have to see) and his two daughters.  He even handles Mary’s coming out as gay well.  Though it is mostly a comedy, it leaves us something to contemplate as it alludes to the current administration and how it is that we have reached this point in history.  Look for Vice to get substantial attention this awards season.