Wag the Dog

Director: Barry Levinson
Cast:
Dustin Hoffman
Robert De Niro
Willie Nelson
Kirsten Dunst
Anne Heche

Desperate to punch up his boss' approval ratings on the eve of reelection, White House spin doctor Robert DeNiro decides he needs a war. Who better to give him one than the smarmy movie producer Dustin Hoffman, complete with fake blue screens, cries of anguish and juxtaposed fires barrelling down on children? Written for the screen by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet, this is a rare political venture for directing great Barry Levinson ("Tin Men," "Avalon," "Rain Man") and rumored to be one of the quickest shoots in Hollywood (29 days, which is abnormally fast).

The dialogue is crisp, the acting superb, but there's still something vaguely antiseptic about this broad farce—it misses your heart and goes straight for the jugular. Watching our whole country fall for governmental spin doctoring is bad enough in real life; watching it taken to its absurd conclusion in a movie is almost painful. DeNiro and assistant Anne Heche shine while they cower in the bunkers (and the movie almost says more about Hollywood than the Oval Office), but Dustin Hoffman's hyper-characterized producer is a lesson in duality. We love to watch him at work, but the overall sentiment of the film (us Americans are stupid sheep who will listen to anybody) ain't nothing we haven't heard before. One needs to take a long, hot shower after this one.

With Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, Craig T. Nelson and Suzie Plakson.

—Ian Williams

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