FAIR GAME

Oh, George W. Bush. Will the world ever run out of things from your Presidency to place under a microscope and get people riled up all over again?

Probably not.

FAIR GAME is the story of CIA operative whose cover was blown by a White House leak to columnist Robert Novak. Not to be confused with the movie of the same name from the mid-90s where Cindy Crawford takes her top off.

Naomi Watts plays Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson is played by Sean Penn and while both give strong performances, the overall movie felt a little weak. I did like that they kept the focus on the two main characters without editorializing on the Bush administration that was composed of crooks and liars who cared only about their own political power and personal gain. None of them cared whether they threw someone under the bus as long as it helped them out, and that's the gist of the whole Plame story.

Doug Liman does a good job of maintaining focus on the characters and not letting them get lost in what could have easily turned into "Fuck George Bush!" film. Liman is fond of using a handheld camera for his films, giving it a documentary-like feel but it doesn't have quite the same effect here as it did in his other films like THE BOURNE IDENTITY. It gets a little distracting at times.

FAIR GAME isn't going to crack even my Top 20 films of the year, but it did its job and filled up an otherwise boring Sunday evening. Or, if you feel like getting mad at shit that happened nearly 10 years ago all over again, look no further.