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.