Steve Coogan's conservative talk show character is portrayed as intelligent, clever, and witty. Yes, he's also an angry schmuck, but he's definitely not a "cartoon" or a two-dimensional character. Interestingly, the liberal protestor character who winds up on Coogan's talk radio show is portrayed as a genuine dolt; you would think the conservative folks with the one-star "reviews" would have loved that, but that would require some thinking on their part. They are here just to bash the film, no matter how nuanced it is. Is it a great film? No, the script is quite flawed in spots, not the least of which is a cringe-worthy cornball ending, but overall it is a decent film. Coogan is superb (no surprise there) and most of the other performances are excellent. The speech Coogan's character delivers at the end of his TV appearance is scathing and pretty much spot on about today's culture and society. Again, you would think the "conservatives" would love it, but they only love attacks presented in black and white; if they are included in the critique, then the entire thing must be some "liberal propaganda" garbage. That's the reactionary, oh excuse me, "conservative" way.
***Hot Air is really about a 6 star film, but I upped my rating to offset the bashing from the snowflake reactionaries.
