The Word of the Day is “satire.” Satire, according to dictionary.reference.com, is “the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.” Keep that in mind; it could be useful information to have handy.

The Review of the Day is for War, Inc., the latest outing from perennial nice guy John Cusack, who plays Brand Hauser, a paid corporate assassin for Tamerlane. Mind you, he’s a charming assassin; this is John Cusack after all. Tamerlane is embroiled as the prime contractor running a war in the fictional country of Turaqistan. When obstacles pop up in the form of competitors building an oil pipeline through the country, Hauser is sent in remove the roadblocks… violently.

What Hauser doesn’t anticipate is his own reaction when he encounters liberal reporter Natalie Hegalhuzen (Marisa Tomei), ostensibly in Turaqistan to cover Tamerlane’s “Brand USA” expo, which happens to be part of Hauser’s cover story; fortunately Natalie is more interested in exposing the rampant corporate profiteering that is the real driving force behind the war. Slowly and humorously a romance blossoms between the two that causes Hauser to examine his motivation for continuing his career as a hired gun.

By now, the more cynical among you are probably thinking, “Wait a minute… a war in an oil-producing country that is generating record profits for American corporations? Why, this is a thinly veiled screed against the war in Iraq!” And you’d be correct. Except for the thinly veiled part. On the whole, I’d say this is very, very blunt and over the top—which is why War, Inc. is satire! While often painfully accurate, it is also very frequently hilarious and absurd, all while skewering political sacred cows left and right.

In addition to his starring role, Cusack co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film, which makes War, Inc. largely a John Cusack project, and for fans—like me—this is a good thing. The onscreen chemistry between Cusack and Tomei is wonderful; both turn in fantastic performances. They’re also joined by Hilary Duff, surprisingly strong as she lampoons her real-life pop-star status in her role as pop-star Yonica Babyyeah. Along for the ride are Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley in supporting roles. And let’s not forget Cusack’s sister, Joan Cusack, in a brilliant bit of casting as Hauser’s stressed out assistant Marsha (!!) Dillon.

At the helm is director Joshua Seftel, who made his mark primarily in documentaries and television—so it’s a little surprising to see him turn up on a project like War, Inc. A look at his résumé shows that he’s no stranger to working with name-brand stars, and I think such experience is exhibited here. The overall results are quite good; excellent acting combined with deft directing makes it hard to find fault at that end of the spectrum.

The deal-breaker for viewers, I suspect, is going to be the story and basic approach. Let me be clear: I loved War, Inc., and can’t wait to see it again. Politics and humor tend to be starkly polarizing, however, and I imagine such polemics will make it difficult to appeal to a general audience. Furthermore, the war theme may still be too raw for movie-goers to be able to navigate through the political pie crust and sink their teeth into the delicious satire underneath. And that’s too bad, because this really is one of the best examples of the genre I’ve seen in some time.

In any case, fans of satire that can appreciate the art for what it is will likely enjoy this one. The problem is that only a lucky few will find a theater in their area that will screen War, Inc. After a successful but very limited initial release, it’s now moving into what is only a marginally larger “wide” release across the country. A strong performance may result in additional theaters screening the film, but many of you will have to wait for the DVD to enjoy what is sure to become a cult classic.

War, Inc. is rated R for “violence, language and brief sexual material.” This is after all a movie about war, assassination, and corporate greed. Mature themes are to be expected.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of War, Inc.