Vice (2018)

Did Dick Cheney fail out of Yale twice?

Yes. After high school, Dick Cheney was accepted to Yale University on a scholarship with the influence of an alumnus who was a Wyoming oilman. In his book In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir, Dick Cheney writes that while at Yale, he befriended "some kindred souls, young men like me who were not adjusting very well [to Yale] and shared my opinion that beer was one of the essentials of life." His drinking resulted in him flunking out. In the movie, his partying also leads him to punch someone and he is called a "dirtbag." In researching the Vice true story, we learned that this scene is fiction with no factual evidence to support that it happened. After taking a year off, he tried to return to Yale but flunked out again.

Cheney found work for a while helping to string power lines as a groundman. Unlike what's seen in the movie, he did not work up on the poles as a lineman. Instead, he helped dig the holes for the poles and worked to hoist the lines up to the linemen, the individuals who actually strung the lines. He eventually went back to school, enrolling at the University of Wyoming where he earned a BA and an MA in political science.

Did Dick Cheney really get two DUIs?

Did Dick Cheney get a stern talking to from Lynne regarding his drinking?

Yes. A fact-check of the Vice movie reveals that he did get a stern talking to from then-girlfriend, now-wife Lynne about straightening himself out. A fictionalized version of that gut-check conversation is included in Vice. Cheney said that avoiding bars and getting married helped him to get his act together. -Business Insider

Did Dick Cheney's father-in-law murder his mother-in-law by drowning her in a lake?

Did Dick Cheney arrive in Washington uncertain of his party affiliation and what he was supposed to believe?

Did a young Antonin Scalia really tell Cheney that Article II of the Constitution gives the chief executive absolute authority?

No. In the film, Dick Cheney is given advice by a young then-future Supreme Court justice named Antonin Scalia, who shares with Cheney how he sees Article II, "It's an interpretation a few, like myself happen to believe, of Article II of the Constitution . . ." Scalia goes on to explain that he believes that Article II of the Constitution gives the president the power of "absolute executive authority. And I mean absolute."

First, someone like Scalia, who was known for being a strict constitutionalist, would never have uttered the words "happen to believe" in relation to the Constitution. He did not see the Constitution as a matter of "belief." Scalia treated the founding document, which defines the framework of the Federal Government, as the law of the land and made his decisions as a Supreme Court justice in accordance with it.

Second, Scalia wouldn't have said that Article II gives the president absolute power. Why? Because Article II doesn't say that the president can do absolutely anything. Director Adam McKay has admitted to creating many of the movie's conversations and this is certainly one of them.

Did Cheney's wife Lynne win him his seat in Congress?

No. In the Vice movie, Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) is ineffective at giving speeches when he's campaigning for Congress in 1978 and the stress gives him a heart attack. He ends up on two weeks bed rest, with his lead in jeopardy. His wife Lynne (Amy Adams) steps in and wins over crowds with her charisma and appealing message.

Lynne Cheney winning her husband his seat as the sole Wyoming representative is entirely conjecture. The movie also edits Cheney's voting record in Congress in an attempt to make him appear like an outright bad person. For example, he did vote for MLK Day in 1983, after first voting against it in 1978, but the movie changes his 1980s' vote to a "NAY". Others like John McCain voted against the holiday in 1983, stating in part that another federal holiday would cost taxpayers too much money since federal employees are still being paid. McCain later admitted he was wrong on the issue.

Did Dick Cheney really convince the House not to override President Reagan's veto of the Fairness Doctrine?

Why does Vice barely mention Dick Cheney's involvement in the first Gulf War?

Director Adam McKay begins Vice by having the narrator (Jesse Plemons) tell us that when Dick Cheney became vice president, nobody knew anything about him. McKay is attempting to position Cheney as an unknown evil that took everyone by surprise. However, a quick Vice fact-check reveals that to be untrue. McKay is avoiding the fact that Cheney was already a fairly well-known celebrity, having been Secretary of Defense during the first Gulf War under George H.W. Bush. The senior Bush won that war, which Cheney oversaw. Both political parties praised Cheney's professionalism and he was the subject of numerous press interviews at the time. He was hardly an unknown.

Did Dick Cheney accept the VP slot with plans to expand the power of the president?

Did Bush and Cheney wear the American flag on their lapels prior to 9/11/2001?

No. The custom to wear the American flag on the lapel reached its peak during the Nixon years and then was largely abandoned. The tradition saw its biggest resurgence following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Yet, we see Bush (Sam Rockwell) and Cheney (Christian Bale) wearing the American flag on their lapels during the 2000 campaign in the movie, a year too early.

Did Dick Cheney really authorize shooting down hijacked planes on 9/11 without the President's approval?

No, at least not according to both President Bush and Cheney, who have both stated that they discussed engagement rules during a phone conversation on the morning of 9/11. During the call, Cheney suggested that fighter pilots be authorized to shoot if planes will not divert. Bush signed off on that concept, thus authorizing the shooting down of hijacked aircraft. Some people who were with the Vice President say that they indeed remember the call. However, the 9/11 commission was unable to find documented evidence for the call, stating in their report, "Among the sources that reflect other important events of that morning, there is no documentary evidence for this call, but the relevant sources are incomplete."

Despite the report being inconclusive with regard to the call, and Bush and Cheney themselves stating it happened, Vice takes the position that not only didn't the call take place, it has Cheney going as far as to deny Condoleezza Rice's suggestion that they get the President back on the phone for approval. Cheney instead gives the shoot-down order himself. This contradicts Rice's own recollection of events, in which she described overhearing Cheney on the phone talking to the President about the shoot-down order. "Sir, the CAPs are up. Sir, they're going to want to know what to do." Then Rice recalled hearing Cheney respond, "Yes sir." The movie's scenario is most likely fiction.

Did Vice President Dick Cheney support invading Iraq because of his ties to the Halliburton Company?

Is Dick Cheney to blame for the launch of ISIS?

Are Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration responsible for the practice of waterboarding suspected terrorists and locking them up at Guantanamo Bay?

Yes. Vice President Dick Cheney and the Bush Administration established Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002 as part of the War on Terror. Critics of the camp have long argued that it violates human rights, citing incidences of reported torture used to extract information from suspected terrorists. This includes waterboarding, which has long been a topic of disagreement among politicians (and the public) and is still brought up during presidential debates.

Director Adam McKay uses his movie Vice to rail against these "enhanced interrogation" techniques. While it's clear what side the movie is taking, audiences will either agree or disagree depending on their viewpoints. As far as Guantanamo Bay, Barack Obama had campaigned on the promise that he would close the detention camp, but he never did. He did reduce the number of inmates but still retained many of the Bush Administration's policies with regard to the War on Terror. -The Washington Post

Did Dick Cheney really tell Lewis Libby to leak Valerie Plame Wilson's name to the press?

Did Dick Cheney really stand up for his gay daughter, only to later let her down?

The movie trivializes a much more complicated family dynamic. Cheney openly supported his daughter Mary after learning that she was a lesbian. This included support for same-sex marriage. However, when his other daughter, Liz, opposed same-sex marriage in her congressional run, the Cheneys publicly supported Liz's bid for Congress (she is currently a member of the House of Representatives), even defending her when she was criticized.

The movie paints this as throwing their daughter Mary under the bus and reversing their views on same-sex marriage, but that was not the case. In reality, it was more a matter of respecting each daughter's different viewpoints, while still supporting their aspirations. "This is an issue we have dealt with privately for many years, and we are pained to see it become public," the Cheneys said in a statement. "Since it has, one thing should be clear. Liz has always believed in the traditional definition of marriage."

Over the years, Dick Cheney has himself confirmed his support for same-sex marriage, first making his stance public in the 2000 vice presidential debate. He drew criticism from conservatives in 2009 over his comments at the National Press Club in Washington. "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish," he said with regard to gay marriage. "Freedom means freedom for everyone." Both Mary Cheney and her sister Liz are politically conservative. -The Washington Post

Did the man who Cheney accidentally shot while hunting apologize to Cheney?

Was Dick Cheney really the all-powerful Machiavellian figure that the movie portrays?

This certainly makes for a better movie character, but it doesn't quite gel with history, at least not according to insiders who worked in the Bush administration. Michael Brown, who was employed as undersecretary of homeland security and was at times critical of Cheney, commented, "President Bush gave the Vice President certain responsibilities, including counterterrorism, prior to 9/11. So that role in counterterrorism was heightened and more in-your-face post 9/11, and I think that drove the narrative that the VP was a Darth Vader character really running the administration. Nothing could be further from the truth. The President indeed relied on the VP for advice, but no more so than he relied on [Secretary of State] Condi Rice or [White House Chief of Staff] Andy Card or other key figures inside the West Wing." Others who were in the White House at that time have also dismissed the notion that Cheney pulled the strings and essentially ran the administration.

How many heart attacks did Dick Cheney suffer?

How much weight did Christian Bale put on to play Dick Cheney?

Actor Christian Bale put on 40 pounds to play the role, which found him with a sizable neck and increased waistline. To complete the look, he shaved his head and bleached his eyebrows. During his Golden Globes acceptance speech for Best Actor, he acknowledged Cheney for inspiring his performance. "Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration for playing this role," he said, confirming his own bias with regard to his subject.

Does director/writer Adam McKay claim that everything in the film is true?

No. McKay has stated that some scenes in the movie aren't 100% accurate. He goes so far as to tell the audience this during the film's opening. An onscreen note informs us that it's a "true story", but the note adds that it's difficult to be strictly accurate because Dick Cheney is so secretive. It's the first time I can recall a film blaming its subject for not being able to get the facts of its story correct. McKay has admitted that many of the conversations in the movie were fabricated. Personalities have also been changed to play more like Saturday Night Live sketch characters instead of real-life people, which creates an additional separation from reality (McKay is a former Saturday Night Live writer).

So why rewrite history? Is McKay hoping that people simply believe his film instead of the truth? It's hard to say, but it's likely that many on the left will embrace it, while most on the right will dismiss it. Fiction is much easier to believe when it fits your own narrative. This is certainly true of Hollywood, who nominated Vice for nine Critics' Choice Awards, six Golden Globes (Bale won for Best Actor) and eight Oscars (including Best Picture, Best Actor - Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell, Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams, Best Director - Adam McKay, Best Original Screenplay - Adam McKay, etc.). This is the very same Hollywood that has refused to nominate a number of biopics in recent years over far less fiction than is found in Vice.