No spoilers… Just some pre-movie thoughts. Oh god yes, this is one of my favorites! I've actually just rewatched the whole related TV series "The Thick of It". The swearing is off the charts. Nothing brings me inner peace more than some of Malcolm Tucker's bollocking rants, though I won't spoil anything before people get a chance to see it :) What I think is interesting about this kind of movie is that the British don't mind portraying their leaders as incompetent buffoons. They have a long history of it (see also "Yes, Minister", "Blackadder", Monty Python, etc.) But I don't really see much of that in America. Americans take politics very seriously and don't seem to ridicule their politicians the same way the British do. The best political comedy in America is "Veep", and that's made by the British (in fact the same guy as "The Thick of It"). The only other one I can even think of is "That's My Bush!", which was pretty weak. Maybe someone can point me in the direction of some good American political satire that I've missed?
Well for American political satire the two biggest players would be The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Saturday Night Live does the occasional satire skit on American politics which usually ramps up during presidential elections. Movie wise there is a shortage of political satire. Thank You for Smoking, starring Aaron Eckhart, i think can be seen as a satirical movie. A classic would obviously be Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb directed by Stanley Kubrick. Not movie but The Onion does the American political satire: http://www.theonion.com/section/politics/ then again its not a movie I'm not sure how you feel about that. For Dr. Strangelove it basically makes fun of the nuclear/Communist scares during the Cold War. Other than these two I can't seem to think of anymore. Here are some links:
Thank You for Smoking
I'm not sure I'd count "The Daily Show" or "The Colbert Report", as they're more political commentary rather than satirical fiction. Now "Dr. Strangelove" is a fantastic example! I can't believe I managed to forget it — it's a very old favorite, and it's one of the only movies that really lampoons America's military and political leadership. Thanks for pointing that one out. I think it merits a re-watch.