"This is the job: To do business with the people the U.S. government can't do business with directly," says Jonah Hill's character Miles Teller's in War Dogs, the new action-comedy from The Hangover director, Todd Phillips. Sounds like a roundabout way of saying what they're doing is illegal, but if that's the case why did the Pentagon offer them a $300M contract to become international arms dealers?
The incredible-but-true story is based on the 2011 Rolling Stone article about a pair of weed-smoking buds who hit the most dangerous areas of the Middle East to sell weapons to some dangerous folks, including one played by Bradley Cooper. Here's the official synopsis:
War Dogs is based on a true story and follows two friends in their early 20’s (Hill and Teller) living in Miami during the Iraq War who exploit a little-known government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on U.S. Military contracts. Starting small, they begin raking in big money and are living the high life. But the pair gets in over their heads when they land a $300 million deal to arm the Afghan Military—a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people, not the least of which turns out to be the U.S. Government.
Warner Bros. has been dropping a lot of trailers for this one and it's hard to tell if that's a show of support or desperation. It looks funny, and with Miles and Hill it almost certainly will be, but are audiences ready for yet another comedy set in the desert sands of Iraq? War Dogs hits theaters on August 19th.
