YMMV / Vice (2018)

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Near the end of the movie, Cheney addresses the audience to claim that what he did was for the good of America. Does he actually believe that? Or is he only saying it in an attempt to justify his actions?
• Anvilicious: Adam McKay really wants you to know that, yes, Dick Cheney did a lot of terrible things.
• Awesome Music: The first trailer made a very good use of "The Man" by The Killers, an anthem of empty chest-bumping macho ego (by the band's own admission), perfectly suiting the subject matter.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Dick Cheney's recurring heart attacks are treated as a Running Gag, with him brushing them off.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight: To portray someone with well-documented heart problems, Christian Bale had to do research on that, and his tips to Adam McKay wound up saving the writer-director once he suffered a heart attack during post-production.
• Heartwarming Moments: Dick unconditionally accepting Mary being lesbian. In real life, he is one of the most prominent supporters of gay marriage in the Republican Party.
  • While it is in a clearly fictional soliloquy, Dick Cheney telling Lynne “Thou shared thy torch’s flame with I” is surprisingly romantic for him.
  • His refusal to make a run for the 1988 Republican nomination for the Presidency to protect Mary. He knew he would have to be very aggressive since preliminary polls showed him trailing significantly and that his opponents would drag her through the mud as a result. Bear in mind this was during the height of the AIDS crisis and was a very rough time for homosexuals in America. Note that this could be a case of Artistic License since there has long been an unwritten rule that children who are not actively involved in a political campaign are off limits. But again, given the AIDS crisis it’s reasonable to say somebody somewhere would’ve leaked a story about Mary.
• One-Scene Wonder: Alfred Molina as the waiter in an Imagine Spot where he shows Cheney and his allies the "menu" for actions and clauses to use.
  Waiter: We have the fact that under the Unitary Executive Theory, if the President does anything, it must be legal. Which of course means you can do whatever the fuck you want.
• Spiritual Successor: Due to being a biographical film covering the political career of Dick Cheney, a large portion of which is devoted to the administration of George W. Bush, it's not uncommon for many to see this film as a companion film to Oliver Stone's W.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The ending shows Liz Cheney infamously taking a stand against Gay Marriage. However she later expressed great regret for this decision and was one of 47 Republicans who voted to protect same-sex marriage. Liz Cheney also boldly stood up to many in her own party and was ultimately defeated in the 2022 primary for being one of ten Republican Members of the House who voted to impeach President Donald Trump. She even served on the January 6 Committee. Both were acts that she knew were likely political suicide in ultra-conservative Wyoming. Finally Dick himself did a very memorable commercial denouncing Donald Trump as part of Liz’s primary. While Liz and the Cheneys remain staunch conservatives, they are now also leaders of the right-wing anti-Trump, pro-Constitution coalition. Liz's memoir, Oath and Honor, recounts a moving exchange between herself and her father at New Year's 2021, just before the January 6th insurrection:
  Dick Cheney: Defend the Republic, daughter.
  Liz Cheney: I will, Dad. Always.

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