An engrossing lead performance by Laurence Fox is the highlight of My Son Hunter, an often entertaining, surreal, and at times perplexing political satire that delves into the Hunter Biden scandal with a surprising amount of sympathy towards a man whose addictions and hedonism has rendered him a political liability.

My Son Hunter opens with the caveat: “This is not based on a true story…except for all the facts”. Indeed, while the events depicted are fictional, the ever-growing list of crimes and unscrupulous activities linked to Hunter Biden, son of current President Joe Biden, is a reminder of not only how a high-grade vagrant become an important cog in a political scandal, but also how a corrupt media landscape protected the Biden family during the 2020 US Presidential elections.

My Son Hunter begins with scenes of hedonistic excess, as Hunter (Laurence Fox) waves his troubles away in a swirl of scantily clad bodies and white powder. Catching his eye is Grace (Emma Gojkovic), a dancer and escort who we first see at an ANTIFA rally. Grace very much plays the conduit for the audience, as she learns firsthand from Hunter the corruption he partook in, on behalf of his father Joe Biden (John James), to secure deals with energy company’s in China and Ukraine.

The hope of the filmmakers behind My Son Hunter is that as Grace is red-pilled by the end of the movie, so to will the audience. Problem is that like so many things in American politics, the majority of those who will watch My Son Hunter will either do so in support of the film and its politics, or as an act of protest so they can pick apart its claims.

Much like Adam McKay’s 2018 movie Vice that chronicled the political life of Dick Cheney with obvious venomous contempt, My Son Hunter – try as it might – won’t convert new believers. What it might do, however, is prompt viewers to ask questions about just what shifty dealings did Hunter, and indeed Joe Biden, took part in, which is more than the majority of the media did when the Hunter Biden laptop scandal was scrapped under the label of “Russian interference.”

Pivotal is the performance by Fox as Hunter, who conjures a surprising amount of sympathy for a man who aptly names himself a “royal fuck up”. In a constant state of intoxication from all matter of ailments, Fox’s Hunter Biden is an open book of regrets and ego-driven bragging, at one moment mourning the deaths of his mother and brother, and in another presenting himself as a master of the universe during his business dealings with corrupt officials on behalf of the “big guy.”

Director Robert Davi (The Duke) brings a certain visual flair to the proceedings. The first half of My Son Hunter is especially strong in its camera work and use of fourth wall breaks that, while not a homerun on every occasion, does the job establishing the more fantastical air of this peculiar political biopic.

What never falters is Fox’s portrayal of a man who, by all accounts, should have been the anchor that stopped Joe Biden from running away with the presidency. My Son Hunter might not appease its detractors, but that it dares to delve into a political scandal some have deemed untouchable makes it a movie worth watching.