In an interview earlier this week with the L.A. Times, director Oliver Stone said counter-programming the image of Hugo Chavez as a “bellicose dictator-cum-comic opera figure” was one of the goals of this documentary, which makes one wonder if Stone isn’t some kind of right-wing sleeper agent. The score that hits at the 40-second spot is reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy and pretty priceless over the shot of a tubby, middle-aged Socialist clumsily riding a little kid bike straight for a brick wall.
That Stone’s lost his electric touch has been obvious for quite some time and here we see he couldn’t even craft a four-minute trailer into something close to compelling. The score belongs in a South American dance documentary but the true low-light is Stone asking to play soccer with Chavez.
Since Cher started doing infomercials there have been rumors of clinics exclusive to Academy Award winners where your ability to be embarrassed can be completely removed, but this is the first real confirmation of that.
Also not surprising is that in a sea of Latin American thugs, Stone still manages to spew the strongest anti-American quote with that crack about U.S. economic control of the region.
Much more on this story here: Oliver Stone ‘Warmly Embracing’ Hugo Chavez in Blame America Doc