(reviewed by our guest critic, the Movie Knight:) Inspired by a Rolling Stones article titled, “Arms and the Dudes” this is a movie based on a true story. If it was a work of fiction, no one would believe it. After the fallout of the Halliburton contract with the Iraq War, given then Vice president Dick Cheney’s relationship with the company, the US started to allow almost anyone to make military contract bids (You never hear conservatives being outraged about that situation). As a result, two twenty-something kids landed a $300 million arms deal with the US government.
David Packouz (Miles Teller) was working as a massage therapist in South Florida. It’s not very good money for him and now he finds out that his girlfriend (Ana de Armas) is pregnant. He hooks up with his childhood friend, Efraim, (Jonah Hill) who is just starting an arms supply business. A new website lists all the contracts the US has open for bidding. At first they just land small contracts, but then they hit the big one. They con their way to land one of the biggest Pentagon deals ever to help arm America’s allies in Afghanistan. This time though, they bite off more than they can chew.
This is the work of writer director, Todd Phillips. He is best known for making The Hangover Trilogy and other big comedies such as Old School. The movie falls more into the category of a dramedy, so if you are expecting big, out loud laughs, as he usually delivers, you are going to be disappointed. However, that is not to suggest Phillips did a bad job. To the contrary, he does show growth from this outing. Both Teller and Hill turn in great performances too. In fact, it will not be surprising to see Jonah Hill received his third Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Having said that, one issue with movies like this one is how they find amusement in the category of war and soldier’s safety. To this day a large number of people’s fathers and sons are in foreign lands risking their lives on a daily basis with neither them or their families knowing if they will make it home. If you have seen any of the advertisements for this movie it makes it appear like this will be an all out comedy brawl. Granted, Hollywood is a business, but there is something unsavory about that too.
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