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YOU'RE WELCOME AMERICA
A Final Night With George W. Bush
By DAVID DAY
del.ico.us
reddit!
WILL FERRELLHBO
11.3.09
The option of revisiting the national nightmare that was our simp-in-chief is not one I'm prone to take. For years and years, I avoided TV news, C-Span and nearly anywhere I might happen to bump into the idiocy of Bush in hopes of keeping me from smashing radios, throwing TV sets out the window or T-boning a fellow driver.
Will Ferrell, though, I'll pick up anytime. He made a mockery of Bush, but with a wit and insight that makes him more Will Rogers than Chevy Chase. On Broadway, he took this mimicry to a new level—a more thoughtful, theatrical version of his SNL doofus. You're Welcome is a series of five monologues with Ferrell's different Bush characters. This 90-minute version of Ferrell's impersonation is much more damning and harsh than his goofy TV persona. It's also grand theater, as, performing live, Ferrell slips in and out of full-on Bush, stepping outside himself at times, so Bush's destruction comes to light without being overwhelming. That is to say, I did not chuck my DVD player into the street.
Gems include improvised audience repartee—where Bush randomly gives people nicknames—and an extended demonic tango with Condoleezza Rice. Director Adam McKay (FunnyOrdie.com) lets our man get to work on his deconstruction, with interim bits only long enough for Ferrell to change and have a glass of water. It's high-class comedy about our low-class disgrace.
