Review of Wag the Dog (1997) by Chris W — 18 Mar 2012

Two weeks before election day, news gets out that the U.S. President is accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. To divert attention away from the scandal and increase the president's chances of getting re-elected, a top political spin doctor named Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) enlists the help of a big wig Hollywood producer named Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to help create a phony war with Albania.

It's a smart and funny set up to begin with, but what really gives added edge and humor to this biting satire is that it was in production around the time of Bill Clinton's real life sex scandal, making the material even more relevant, intriguing, and thought provoking.

This is some funny stuff (usually of the dark variety though), and it really makes you wonder about what actually goes on behind the scenes in Washington, and if the stuff the media feeds us cocncerning all things politics is legit or just the product of movie magic and trickery.

Co-written by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin, and directed by Barry Levinson, this is a solid piece of work with an all star cast including (besides Hoffman and De Niro) Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Kirsten Dunst, and Craig T. Nelson. They all deliver some good work, but it's definitely De Niro and Hoffman who steal the show.

The film is quite sharp and very well done, but it also feels rather light at times, and it seems a little underwhelming with how it ends. It ended and I was like, "is that it?" So yeah, there's some flaws here, but those aside, this is some terrific stuff, so definitely check it out.