By chronicling Richard Bobby and Richard Cheney, Adam McKay proves his subject versatility. Yet, the longtime funnyman’s recent lean toward quip documentary-esque pictures is noteworthy and confusing. And Vice is beguiling, like one of Cheney’s flies on the river, but is it good?

The scope of this story is not undersold. We all know the history. It comes down to this style where everything stutter-steps between timeline hops and actual footage hits along with text screens and, you guessed it, extensive and unnecessary fourth wall breaks. Here, Cheney (Bale), is likened to a conniving bull surrounded by people intimidated by him. But after each aforementioned film trap, we become less interested.

With Bale’s physical transformation notwithstanding, the appeal of this film is W (Rockwell). Let’s face it, Bush’s peculiarities and drawl are entertaining and Rockwell convinces you that he is him. He is spectacularly in over his political head and his yeehaw shtick is endearing. But the most memorable bit might be Alfred Molina offering up constitutional gaps on the menu as a restaurant server. And that these thirty seconds are so memorable speaks to the rest of the show.

Vice doesn’t quite grip us, tallying 2.84 napkins out of 5.

In this edition, the friendly Spidey-verse presents a super-heroic homecoming for comic animation. Amidst the drastic CGI of the current MCU, Lord and Miller find pace and spectacle in the timelessness and beauty of the cartoon. And we are all caught up in the web.

Miles (Moore), looking to temper the discipline of his police officer dad (Henry), turns to his cool Uncle Aaron (Ali) with confusion and discovery to ensue soon thereafter. Miles’ character is just perfect; both bashful and charismatic, dressed in classic Jordan 1s and offering a rejuvenating spirit. And, with Aunt May showing off her own sense, this picture overflows with style points.

As dimensions are crossed and the layers of the multiverse revealed, an array of Spideys appear including Gwen (Steinfeld), Miles’ petite crush, a fabulous nod to Anime with Peni Parker (Glenn) and the incomparable Spider-Man Noir (Cage) who stumbled right out of Casablanca to garner high FC praise. And this eclecticism brings a fervor and originality to a story that has seemingly been told many times before.

Commingling classic comic book speech bubbles and onomatopoeia with innovative animation, this film finds itself in the FC Elite-verse, tangled up in 4.83 napkins out of 5.