'Charlie Wilson's War' a Satirical Spin on History

By Bob Mondello

Published December 21, 2007 at 4:00 PM EST

Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is based on real events in the life of Democratic Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson.

Wilson conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch an operation to help the Afghan mujahedeen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. So it may seem surprising that the movie has been nominated for five Golden Globe awards in the "musical or comedy" categories. It's not a musical — but it does have its share of laughs.

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Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello, who jokes that he was a jinx at the beginning of his critical career — hired to write for every small paper that ever folded in Washington, just as it was about to collapse — saw that jinx broken in 1984 when he came to NPR.

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