Hanks powers an A-list "Charlie Wilson's War"

When we first meet U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks) he's sipping bourbon in a Las Vegas hot tub, surrounded by naked strippers while a few feet away more nude beauties snort lines of cocaine.

Rep. Wilson, D-Texas, seems oblivious to the skin and drugs. What piques his curiosity is the news report (the year is 1980) unfolding on the TV over the bar -- an unshaven Dan Rather is in Afghanistan reporting on the war against the invading Soviets.

This film is about how Charlie Wilson, a party animal whose greatest legislative achievement in six terms was getting re-elected five times, became the key player in dealing the mighty Red Army its most humiliating defeat. You might even say good ol' boy Charlie was largely responsible for the fall of Communism.

Only in America.

Mike Nichols' "Charlie Wilson's War" is a smart, bitingly funny look at a real-life figure still largely unknown to the general public despite being the subject of a best-selling book. It's also a nifty satire of all things political and an indictment of Washington's myopia and short-sightedness.

And thanks to the scintillating dialogue of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (creator of TV's "The West Wing") the film is full of snap, crackle and pop.

Charlie Wilson is divorced, perennially broke and almost certainly alcoholic.On a trip back home Wilson falls under the sexual spell of Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), the sixth-wealthiest woman in Texas and a right-wing warrior who twists his arm into visiting refugee camps along the Pakistan/Afghan border. There Good Time Charlie has his faced rubbed in the horrors of war and the routine atrocities of the Soviets.

This yarn is told in a series of sharp confrontations fueled by sparkling dialogue and a general lack of respect for the legislative process. Though pitched as comedy with absurdist flourishes, you can't help thinking that "Charlie Wilson's War" accurately captures the less-than-kosher methods by which laws are passed and money dispersed in our nation's capital.