The movie is unimaginative and uninteresting on most every level–how many close-ups of the bottle of Jack Daniels do we need, exactly, before Stone has us convinced that young George has a drinking problem?–but since President Bush has become known (sigh) as our most evangelical president, one would think that that aspect of his life would be something that could hold the interest of Stone and the movie’s writer, Stanley Weiser. 

But no. 

Instead, what we get are recurring images of Bush praying silently with his staff (which are played as a goof), one AA meeting that ends in a brief prayer by his creepy sponsor, and–most interestingly–a brief indication that Bush tried to get his father to connect with the evangelical base during the 1992 presidential campaign.  

It’s the meeting-ending prayer motif that is meant to stick with us, I suppose, but it doesn’t offer anything we don’t already know. Which is too bad–some creative mind needs to explore Bush’s religious being, and put it to good fictional use. Again, there’s nothing special about this shortcoming in the movie–every aspect of Bush’s life in “W” gets about this much insight.