Charlie Wilson's War ***

First of all, it's a comedy. Yes, it's a true story about how one congressman from Texas had a great deal to do with enabling the Afghan rebels to defeat the Soviets in the '80s. But's it's not a war movie. Yes, there are some heart-tugging refugee camp scenes, and some realistic air attack scenes, both in newsreel style and in helicopter point of view mayhem. But it's not a war movie like you think. It's not like the war movies you've been staying away from in droves. It's not "In the Valley of Elah," it's not "Lions for Lambs," "Rendition," "Redacted," or the documentary "No End in Sight," all of which have had disappointing or downright minuscule box office receipts. It's a serious story told in a funny way with larger-than-life characters.

There's Charlie himself (Tom Hanks), his rich Houston friend who has taken up the Afghan cause (Julia Roberts), and an effective but too rough around the edges for Helsinki CIA agent who gets demoted to the Afghanistan desk (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). And maybe you're right to stay away from those other movies. After all, why do we go to the movies? Most of all we want to be entertained. We can even be entertained by war movies. But we do require a little distance. A CBS News poll in September found that 61% of Americans think it's too soon to be making movies about the Iraq war. These same people are voting with their feet as they head to escapist Hollywood trash like "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," (reviewed above) which has racked up $65 million in five days against the paltry $16 million that "Charlie" has made.

But seriously, this is a funny movie, and yes it has a lesson or two, but that's not the big, serious point. I mean, come on people, it has Tom Hanks in great form, Julia Roberts playing the kind of free spirit only big Texas money can buy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman in another great character turn, and all directed by Mike Nichols. Did I mention all the women, and drinking, and drugs, and parties that Charlie Wilson occupied a great deal of his time with? This is not a preachy collection of speeches, but a real movie, and with real twists and turns of office politics, national politics, and international clandestine politics. Doesn't that sound like more fun than another mish-mash of phony-baloney history "National Treasure" hunt?

Rated R. 97 minutes. Produced by Good Time Charlie Productions. Distributed by Universal Pictures.