I watched The Apprentice (2024), the movie about Trump from earlier this year starring Sebastian Stan. The film didn’t make much money because Trump supporters didn’t want to watch it, thinking it would be anti-Trump from liberal Hollywood, while liberals didn’t really want to watch it because they were so traumatized by and turned off by Trump. I’m not sure who the intended audience was here.

Sebastian Stan was okay as Trump, getting better in the role as the movie went on; however, he doesn’t have the right look nor the right build nor is he bullshitty or charismatic enough - the real Trump was/is a force of nature. Shane Gillis much more captures the essence of Trump in his impression of him on Kill Tony and elsewhere (you can see Gillis as Trump in his hilarious portrayal here: youtube.com/watch?v=ZgH… ) . So this is a major knock on the film for a mediocre portrayal, which is the heart of the film.

Jeremy Strong did a great job as Roy Cohn, really chewing the dialogue and scenes; so did the actors playing Fred Trump and Ivana.

While the film has an anti-Trup bias, it wasn’t too overt or distracting - it presents him as narcissistic, taking credit for other’s works/achievements, taking reckless risks, as well as highlighting his vanity and shallowness, but it also shows him as a businessman and possessing cunning and strength.

The film was quite watchable but I think it should have been far more verbally bullshitty with a lot more humor. The film isn’t nearly funny enough.

I’d rate it a 6/10, as I did learn some things about Trump’s past that I wasn’t aware of and it held my attention.