NIXON (ELECTION YEAR EDITION)

"Ha ha, suckers! Just try to make it through all 213 minutes!"

Sometimes I wonder if Oliver Stone cranks out epic political dramas like Nixon simply so he can sit back and laugh at us as we attempt to endure them. Adding an extra 28 minutes to the film for the Election Year Edition must have had him holding his sides and falling right out of his chair, "Ha ha, suckers! Just try to make it through all 213 minutes!" Nixon found me practically falling out of my chair as well, but unlike Oliver, I wasn't having the last laugh. I was nearly dying from sheer boredom.

To be fair, Nixon makes a genuine attempt to humanize Richard Nixon and to illuminate the factors that contributed to his rise to power and his subsequent fall from grace. His life story easily rivals anything cooked up by William Shakespeare, and I've always had a soft spot in my heart for this fascinating, tragic man. I'm sure I took in at least 213 minutes in PBS documentaries around the time of his death, and I'm sure I could devote another 2,013 minutes to the subject. It's just that it seems somehow silly to turn to a movie for insight on his life when we can easily access the books he wrote, the interviews he gave, and the news coverage that surrounded his career.

Though I can't think of a better choice for the title role, I found it difficult to accept Anthony Hopkins as Nixon. He gives an exquisite, layered performance, but by this point in Hopkins' career, he's almost as fundamental to pop culture as Nixon himself. It's kind of like selecting Billy Idol to star in a biopic on Elvis: would you ever stop thinking, "That's not Elvis, it's Billy Idol!"? Joan Allen is spot-on as Pat Nixon, but the cast as a whole is so recognizable, so A-list, that you're always aware that one famous person is trying to fill the shoes of another famous person.

Ultimately, Nixon may simply have arrived on the scene before its time. Is it a well-made film? Yes. Well-acted? Yes. Thoughtful, provocative, and fair? Yes. Do I have any interest in it at all? No. I would certainly have preferred an in-depth documentary from Mr. Stone than this Hollywoodized version of Nixon's life, and from where I sit, it seems that perhaps this film was simply made too soon. Anyone old enough to remember Nixon himself is likely to struggle with the same issues I did, but without this baggage, future generations may simply embrace the film as an enlightening look back at history.... Either that, or they'll take one look at the 213 minute running time and say, "Sorry Oliver, no thanks." He kind of made his own bed with that artistic decision.

DVD NOTES

The 2 disc Election Year Edition of Nixon includes a new documentary by Sean Stone called "Beyond Nixon", deleted scenes introduced by Oliver Stone, a Charlie Rose interview with Oliver Stone, two audio commentaries with Oliver Stone, and the original theatrical trailer.