Not all biographical films on politicians are made equal. Some try to tell a sprawling tale of someone's political life, such as Oliver Stone with his Nixon and W, while others capture a momentous slice of an historical event, such as Roger Donaldson's Thirteen Days which was gripping from start to end. Then there are those like Rudy, which tries to do both, but don't really get there, undoubtedly having the story mooted since Rudy Giuliani (James Woods) was the mayor of New York during the fateful event of September 11 2011, and having this film weave a glimpse of his political career culminating in that horrendous disaster.Granted this had a limited budget, and in many ways that showed in the film, having some scenes crafted in sparse studios, although looking like a million dollars when Robert Dornhel, whose experience and filmography point to a lot of made for television films which this one also belonged to, had deliberately opted for the documentary look and feel for the event of September 11. Everything else looked indoors and not on location, removing that sense of authenticity of filming it all in the Big Apple.There's also very little on his political and professional career before Mayorship, and what I thought was a very interesting bit in his life during his Attorney General days as he locked horns with the mafia, was grossly glossed over, which was a pity because there's so much narrative potential there to be explored, but I guess writer Stanley Weiser, who based this film on the book by Wayne Barrett, didn't find it interesting enough for a big screen treatment. Much instead is preferred to focus on the man's incredibly bad temper behind closed doors, demonstrating that Giuliani is a man who doesn't mince his words, and shoots very fast from the hip without due care whether it'll hurt anyone at all with his pointed, loud barbs.With 9/11 stock footage mixed with its own documentary presentation, the story unfolds in flashbacks, as we glimpse into Rudy's marriage to newscaster Donna Hanover (Penelope Ann Miller) who had once interviewed him and begun a whirlwind romance, before his suspected infidelities and indiscretion led to breakdowns in both his marriage and almost always threatening his political career, isolating him from strong, key advisers who don't quite see eye to eye with his blind trust of his communications director. I suppose Robert Dornhelm prefers to tell the age old story of how the strong almost always fall prey to the advances of the fairer sex, and in some ways become the seeds to their downfall, in more ways than one.James Woods puts in a riveting performance as the go-getter in the titular character, but ultimately got let down by the weak narrative that didn't get to dig deeper into what made the man, skimming only on the surface and focused on his anger management issues. Supporting cast didn't outside Woods in his role, and that may be attributed to the more caricature like treatment the supporting characters had to deal with since a biopic that's about 90 minutes long doesn't leave a lot of room for the spotlight to be shared with others.For a man who was to provide a leadership beacon in what would be one of the most tragic terrorist attacks in human history, Rudy had all the potential to paint a more complex, detailed picture of just who the man was, someone whom most had seen on their television screens in the aftermath of that attack, but you're likely to come out from this just a wee bit more knowledgeable about the man himself, if at all, no thanks to its summarizing of key milestones in the man's life, and the indecision to just want to focus on an episode, or be a little bit more ambitious to cover a whole lot of ground.

Apparently it was his admiration for the prurient right-wing mayor that led James Woods to play the part. But the portrayal remains wholly unconvincing, particularly as James Woods is such a familiar Hollywood actor. It would have helped a great deal in my opinion to have used a virtually unknown actor for the part, and Woods admiration for the man in no way justifies him being cast for the role. And surely there's no need in my pointing out the fact that the two men share no physical resemblance whatsoever? The quality and style of the film is sub-standard TV movie. The September 11th section of this film switches from actual original camcorder footage of the collisions - to scenes of Woods pretending to be the mayor, back and forth. Back and forth. Whether the use of original footage was due to low budget, or 'experimental' reasons, I'm not quite sure, but whatever the reason - it sure looks tacky.In many ways I admire the mayor, in particular for his calm and measured response in the days following 9/11 (in stark contrast to Bush). But I do feel the man is a philistine and does not support freedom of expression, at least within the arts (as evidenced by his banning of an art exhibition in New York simply because it offended his very catholic religious sensibilities). But of course this hagiography of a film does not explore this side of the man - only those aspects which depict him as heroic, saintly, yet redemptive and human.

I'll start by saying I'm a fan of Mr. Giuliani and read his book, Leadership. So I was very disappointed by this movie for several reasons.The script is extremely flat. Yes, it does show that Giuliani had a temper, liked opera and loved the law. But in a way that made me think the writer had a checklist to work from. And one that did not include Giuliani's lighter side. The script barely allows him to smile or laugh or enjoy the people around him. For example, it could have included his appearances on Saturday Night Live, his second Mayoral race and the image problem he had to overcome or his friendship with Joe Torre and the Yankees. Indeed, SHOWING his relationship to the team, rather than just SAYING he loved them, would have done wonders for showing him as the proudest New Yorker. And making an effort to portray has relationship with his children would have been nice, too.The people around Giuliani rarely react to him. For example, on becoming the lead Federal Prosecutor in Manhattan, he tells a roomful of Federal Prosecutors that they have gotten fat and lazy and no one reacts in any way. He explains to a roomful of prosecutors how he will take down the Mafia on conspiracy to violate RICO laws (which he reminds them he wrote) and again, no one reacts. The most frequent reaction is silent bustling in response to the scripted tirades. He's often "right", but he's not even allowed to enjoy outsmarting the other guy (a la Jack McCoy of Law & Order).I've seen the movie twice now (hoping it would be better) and still don't know why the 9/11 events are done in flashback throughout the movie. My only guess is they couldn't figure out how to end it otherwise.Overall, I think that Rudy Giuliani deserved a much better biography. Hopefully someone will do it someday.

I think that "Rudy!" is a great depiction of the former New York mayor. It balances his good points with his bad. There were so many things I didn't know about the man that this piece shed light on. This alone makes me want to become more involved in politics and the writers and producer should really give themeselves a pat on the back for this one.