Esteemed Critic Elisabeth Hasselbeck Smothers ‘W’ in its Crib

We’re sorry to note this morning that the laff-a-minute presidential opus W. has earned its first negative review, and it’s one from which the film may have difficulty recovering: Elisabeth Hasselbeck needed only the trailer to swear off Oliver Stone’s all-star romp through the life and times of George W. Bush, citing the filmmaker’s “bias” and critical treatment of a sitting Commander in Chief. Her outraged View co-hosts Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg — the latter still stung by the crippling backlash to trailers for her 2006 classic Homie Spumoni — warned of the implications of judging too harshly before seeing the film, but it was no use. Damage control is on at Lionsgate, meanwhile, where desperate marketing kingpin Tim Palen reportedly earmarked up to a third of his studio’s new $340 million credit line for an early, spoilerrific David Letterman rave. Alas, some bells just can’t be unrung. [AOL]