Charlie Wilson's War: Difference between revisions

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{{quote| '''Gust Avrakotos :''' There's a little boy and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse... and everybody in the village says, "how wonderful. The boy got a horse" And the Zen master says, "[[Well See About That|we'll see]]." Two years later, the boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, "How terrible." And the Zen master says, "We'll see." Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight... except the boy can't cause his legs all messed up. and everybody in the village says, "How wonderful."<br />

'''Charlie Wilson''': Now the Zen master says, "[[Well See About That|We'll see]]". }}

* [[Anti Air]]: A major problem is finding a mule-portable weapon that can shoot down the [[Death From Above|well-armoured Hind helicopter gunships]].

* [[Anti-Air]]: A major problem is finding a mule-portable weapon that can shoot down the [[Death From Above|well-armoured Hind helicopter gunships]].

* [[Arms Dealer]]: Israeli arms merchant Zvi Rafiah.

* [[Badass Boast]]: "Now for 24 years, people have been trying to kill me. People who know how. Now is that because my dad was a Greek soda pop maker or because I'm an American spy?"

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* [[Framing Device]] -- we start and end some years after the main events of the film

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]] -- the crap being the money to fund this war.

* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: Invoked, the movie makes a point about how neglecting the aftermath paves the way for a tyrannical regime. [[Won the War Lost The Peace]]

* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: Invoked, the movie makes a point about how neglecting the aftermath paves the way for a tyrannical regime. [[Won the War, Lost The Peace]]

{{quote| '''Wilson:''' These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world... and then we fucked up the endgame. }}

* [[Historical Hero Upgrade]] -- depending on your politics, natch. The real Charlie Wilson was not quite as liberal as the one in the film. (He didn't have to be -- the Soviets were also commies in [[Real Life]], so it balances out.)

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* [[Really Gets Around]]: Charlie Wilson. His Girlfriend Jane also expresses willingness to sleep with other men.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: Charlie doesn't try to hide his hedonistic lifestyle from his Bible Belt constituents.

** He's representing Texas: they [[Work Hard Play Hard|pray hard and party hard]] in that state.

** He's representing Texas: they [[Work Hard, Play Hard|pray hard and party hard]] in that state.

* [[Sexy Secretary]] -- Charlie was notorious for this in real life.

** One of his secretaries explains it [[A Worldwide Punomenon|beautifully]] to a visitor: "Well... Congressman Wilson, he has an expression. He says, 'You can teach 'em to type, but you can't teach 'em to grow tits.'"

* [[Shout Out]]: "Has there ever been [[The West Wing|a show about Washington]]? I don't think there has."

* [[Shout-Out]]: "Has there ever been [[The West Wing|a show about Washington]]? I don't think there has."

* [[Signature Style]]: The screenplay has [[Aaron Sorkin]]'s fingerprints all over it, [[Self-Demonstrating Article|as he would put it]].

* [[Smart People Play Chess]]: We're introduced to covert warfare strategist Mike Vickers playing chess in a park against four opponents simultaneously.

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* [[Spy From Weights and Measures]]: Gust claims to work for Department of Agriculture's Fruit and Plant Division, specializing in apple imports, though it's mostly played as a joke because Joanne is well-aware he's with the CIA.

** This, [[Reality Is Unrealistic|in point of fact]], is [[Truth in Television]].

* [[Work Hard Play Hard]] -- Charlie Wilson's motto.

* [[Work Hard, Play Hard]] -- Charlie Wilson's motto.