Who's in It: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Kerry Washington, Gillian Anderson
The Basics: Buddy movies are awesome, aren't they? You really root for the mismatched pals as they have adventures or solve crimes or get into scrapes with Johnny Law. This movie's got a bemused Scottish doctor (McAvoy — he was the half-man, half-goat-or-whatever-it-was guy in Narnia) and his wacky patient, legendary Ugandan dictator and murderer Idi Amin (Whitaker). The part where they re-create the ending of Thelma & Louise? Hilarious.
What's the Deal? OK, it's actually about how one man, McAvoy's doctor character, allows himself to become corrupted by the high life and its really seductive, gruesome power. He's the ruins of British colonialism contained in one guy.
Don't Get It Twisted: This isn't a historical drama. It's got a historically real person as a main character, and a lot of what he does is public record, but it's fictional; based on a novel, in fact, so don't come out of this thinking you know something about Idi Amin. It's really a horror movie, the incredibly violent kind, the kind where the psychotic guy is charming and reels everyone in until they're ruined. Creepy and gross, but that's entertainment.
Oprah Says It, You Believe It and That Settles It: Whitaker was just on Oprah's show, and now she's running around acting as though she invented praising him for his incredible performance — a sight that's almost as fun to watch as Whitaker's incredible performance. And it is. Incredible, that is. The movie's pretty good, but not as good as his acting. And he deserves all the good notices he's getting; he makes the movie better than it is. That's how it happens sometimes.
Check It Out: If you get a chance, you should also watch the weird 1974 documentary General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait. Because that guy was mental.