Oliver Stone's W.

Oliver Stone's new movie, W., may be a case of too much too soon. Is this really what people want to rush out and see this weekend?

It's hard to go pay to watch an impersonation of someone we see almost daily in the news. I caught a snippet of Josh Brolin's performance on NPR's Fresh Air and he sounds eerily like the president, but is that compelling enough to draw people into the theater, particularly when the president's approval rating is at an all-time low?

It's like paying to watch a dramatic rendition of the Detroit Lions.

Here's one of America's most controversial directors on the subject of one of America's most controversial administrations. Not sure that popcorn is going to make the experience of watching Richard Dreyfuss, an acquired taste, play Dick Cheney (ditto), any more pleasant. Perhaps gum surgery might be preferable.

Distance is a terrific gift when it comes to analysis and interpretation. Movies dealing with Iraq, the decision to go to war, and the aftershocks of Sept. 11 have done poorly at the box office with a citzenry still not ready to spend free time being "entertained" by what is still news.

In the Valley of Elah, Redacted, Rendition, Lions for Lambs and Home of the Brave have all fared poorly at the box office. Most of them were critically panned, as well.

HBO's Generation Kill failed to generate much attention, despite being created by David Simon and Ed Burns, the talents behind The Wire. Perhaps, in a few years, we can all work up to watching it.

In the mean time, watching the Red Sox square off against Tampa Bay looks like a better use of time.