Review of Wag the Dog (1997) by David G — 18 Apr 2010
(from The Watermark 01/04/98).
Easily the funniest film I've seen all year. Heche is a White House aide working with political fix-up-man DeNiro. The President has just been accused of having a tryst with a teenage girl in the Oval Office, just days before he is hoping to be re-elected. DeNiro's plan to keep the public on the President's side: Fake a war. Off to Hollywood they go, where they employ producer Hoffman to create a false news reel showing Albania attacking the United States. The charade, of course, escalates to disinformation of grand proportions. With every twist and turn of events, the film just gets funnier and funnier. It is a beautifully double-edged sword that satirizes both politics and the entertainment industry. And rarely is satire so pointed, so cynical, and so gut-bustingly funny. Hoffman will be Oscar-nominated for his performance as the undaunted egomaniac producer. DeNiro is wonderfully understated, and Heche is perfectly cast as the befuddled tag-along. A special thank you to writer-director Barry Levinson (Rain Man) who accomplishes all of this in 1 hour and 45 minutes. What a breath of fresh air in this era of 2-hour-plus epics.
This review of Wag the Dog (1997) was written by David G on 18 Apr 2010.
Wag the Dog has generally received positive reviews.
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