If you come to War Dogs expecting a comedy from Hangover director Todd Phillips, then you made a wrong turn somewhere around Albania. Together, they exploit a government initiative that allows businesses to bid on USA military contracts. They soon find themselves in over their heads after landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces, a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people.
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“I think there have been a lot of movies recently about the system is kind of rigged, and it’s rigged against the little guy and I feel like, hopefully it fits into that kind of pantheon”, Phillips said. Diveroli is part frat boy and part sociopath, and Hill is good at making you believe Diveroli always has something up his sleeve.
In celebration, Warner Bros. held a press conference featuring cast members: Jonah Hill and Miles Teller; alongside crew members: Todd Phillips (Director/Screenwriter) and Guy Lawson (journalist).
With such an incredulous story – described thoroughly in the Rolling Stone article Arms and the Dudes – as inspiration, Phillips has a rich vein of material to mine. Mikes Teller is the break out star of this movie. Conveniently, Packouz is then reunited with childhood friend and bad influence Diveroli, who sucks him into the world of shady – but legitimate – arms deals on behalf of the United States government.
The 29 year old stars opposite Jonah Hill in the dramedy about two childhood friends who become wealthy worldwide arms dealers out of the blue.
The Miami boys, labelled the War Dogs, say they are over the moon and need more space for the cash. “I’m selling it to the Pentagon'”. This is about the economy of war, as David Packouz tells it in the beginning of the movie. I’m not anxious about young people seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of that.
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Miles Teller says he was flawless for “War Dogs” because he used to be a stoner. There are many scenes which are just fictionalized like a driving scene in Iraq in which the duo is seen driving, which never happened literally, but the movie is expected to get good ratings and reviews from the audience. The pair of 20-somethings whose friendship dates to their school days at an Orthodox synagogue in Miami Beach, Florida, where, according to the article, the younger Divoli was the overweight class clown “with a big mouth and no sense of fear”. “So I was very excited for it”. Some might call what they were able to achieve a story of the American Dream, but I think we all have different ideas of what that is.
