Review of Wag the Dog (1997) by Ahmedaiman9999 — 30 Jul 2018

Every political satire I've watched requires some engagement to seem plausible, except this one. Wag the Dog is the only one of its kind that contains just enough realistic weight to be uncomfortably realistic. You will laugh out loud, and feel that all things make a lot of sense without wondering. Also, it doesn't try to be bitter and harsh as other satirical movies do. In fact, it's always fluffy and warm, and that makes the movie quiet ironical in its own. Especially, because it's very very painfully relevant. All the actors delivered terrific performances, and there is superb chemistry between every actor and another, even who have smaller roles. Needless to say, Robert De Niro is great. But Dustin Hoffman is who steals the show. Hoffman gave one of the best performances in his entire career. Actually, I will put his performance in Wag the Dog right after the performance that made him a household name in The Graduate. But let's put that off till I watch Rain Man. Woody Harrelson also has a small role in this movie, and although his character in not very interesting, especially because it was in the weakest part of the movie when it dragged a little bit, Harrelson's impeccable performance is not to blame. Every single subtle trick in Wag the Dog makes you burst out laughing. And the movie takes advantage of all these tricks and small details until the credits roll. It never wastes any clever joke that made you laugh, and uses it again in a more clever way to make you laugh over it again and again.

Barry Levinson's direction is so smart, clever and slick. He made the movie fast-paced and that was a good decision, but I think he could have concentrated on the funniest moments in the movie to make them more pleasant, and to make them memorable not only funny. I have kinda the same issue with one of my all-time favorite movies, The Graduate. (I think Mike Nichols should have focused on the drama more than he did.) The political commentary was a little on-the-nose at first but Barry Levinson's wit direction outweighed this little issue from the beginning. And the result is one of, if not the funniest political satire movie I've ever seen.

(8.