Bush's Brain (2004)

Directors:

Joseph Mealey
Michael Shoob

Writers:

James C. Moore (book)
Wayne Slater (book)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

An examination of political consultant Karl Rove's influence on George W. Bush's candidacy. |

Plot Keywords:

George W. Bush | FBI | Wiretapping | U.S. President | Saddam Hussein

Cast

Lee Atwater	...	Himself (archive footage)
Osama Bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cathy Bonner	...	Herself
Bruce Buchanan	...	Himself
Barbara Bush	...	Herself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Laura Bush	...	Herself (archive footage)
Max Cleland	...	Himself
William P. Clements Jr.	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Shirley Cuff	...	Herself
Gray Davis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alan Dixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert Edgeworth	...	Himself
Kent Hance	...	Himself
Jim Hightower	...	Himself (archive footage)
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Israel	...	Himself
Molly Ivins	...	Herself
Richard Leiby	...	Himself
Wade Lieseke Jr.	...	Himself
Susie Lieseke	...	Herself
Ken Luce	...	Himself
Garry Mauro	...	Himself
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chuck McDonald	...	Himself
Dave McNeely	...	Himself
Bill Miller	...	Himself
Mike Moeller	...	Himself
James C. Moore	...	Himself
Jesse Oliver	...	Himself
Tom Pauken	...	Himself
Rick Perry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chelle Lieseke Pokorney	...	Herself
Fredrick E. Pokorney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ross Ramsey	...	Himself
Ann Richards	...	Herself (archive footage)
Karl Rove	...	Himself
A.R. Schwartz	...	Himself
Wayne Slater	...	Himself
Glenn Smith	...	Himself
Karl Struble	...	Himself
Jacques Vroom	...	Narrator
John Weaver	...	Himself
Mark White	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph Wilson	...	Himself

Directed by
Joseph Mealey
Michael Shoob

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James C. Moore		book
Wayne Slater		book

Produced by
Joseph Mealey	....	producer
Elizabeth Reeder	....	co-producer
Michael Shoob	....	producer

Original Music by
David Friedman
Michelle Shocked

Cinematography by
Joseph Mealey

Film Editing by
Tom Siiter

Visual Effects by
Cameron Teisher	....	digital artist: title design

Music Department
Michelle Shocked	....	song music

Production Companies

• BeBe Films Inc.

Distributors

• Tartan (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• Opening Distribution (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Tartan Video USA (2004) (USA) (DVD)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13

Company:

BeBe Films Inc.

Interesting subject matter, but a mediocre presentation

Before seeing 'Bush's Brain', directed by Joseph Mealey and Michael Shoob, and based on the book of the same title written by James C. Moore and Wayne Slater, I had heard the name Karl Rove, but never knew what his role in the Bush Administration was. After seeing 'Bush's Brain', I have a good idea of who he is and how he operates, which I think was just one of the objectives of the filmmakers.

'Bush's Brain' examines the rise of Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser and the head of his presidential campaign. Before working for George W., he successfully engineered the campaign of several Texas politicians, leading up to, of course, George W. Bush's election as governor. The film briefly deals with his rise to prominence, and then spends most of its time focusing on three separate campaigns that Rove worked on. Rove is portrayed as an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get his candidate elected; generally a trait that you would want in a campaign director, except through eye-witness accounts and interviews with former colleagues, we learn that this does not mean only engaging in legal or moral activities. We learn of how he orchestrated 'whisper campaigns' (most notably during John McCain's 2000 bid for the Republican nomination, something that really made me scratch my head, considering McCain's seeming undying devotion to Bush now) among other tactics for all of his successful clients.

Personal politics aside, when I went to see this film I was expecting more of a Democratic lean, just based on the title alone. The film did a good job providing seemingly factual information throughout, however the last segment of the film focuses on a family who tragically lost their son in Iraq. After making the case that Rove and Bush orchestrated the recent war, Mealey and Shoob throw in this segment for obvious emotional impact. It did, of course, but it was unnecessary and preachy. I feel that they did a good job making their case already. The filmmakers also insisted on telling us who each interviewee was throughout the film, so that was also a minor distraction.

'Bush's Brain' was an interesting documentary and certainly provided a lot of food for thought, but it wasn't as effective as it could have been. It is probably important viewing, mainly for the sake of the information provided, however. 5/10

--Shelly