MAN OF THE YEAR
Levinson's comedians wag the dog in American
politics
PopcornReel.com Film Review: "Man of The Year"
By Omar P.L. Moore/October 15, 2006
Williams Linney Walken: Robin, Laura and
Christopher star in Barry Levinson's "Man of The Year". (Photos: Ava
Gerlitz/Universal Pictures)
Barry Levinson continues his spectacular political satire where
he left off in "Wag The Dog" eight years ago with "Man of the Year", about a
television talk show comedian who runs for president of the United States -- and
wins -- thanks to some shrewd computer voting errors. Levinson's film is a
Universal Pictures release, and like that studio's summer release
"The Break-Up",
is billed as a comedy even though much of the film's second half is more of a
drama. In fact, after the film's first 40 minutes with Robin Williams (who
plays comedian Tom Dobbs) doing trademark Williams energetic mile-a-minute
comedy schtick and some funny and very pertinent lines from fellow comedian
Lewis Black as Dobb's campaign advisor, the film turns into a suspenseful
political drama that has Jonathan Demme's "Manchurian Candidate"-paranoia
thriller written all over it. (A scene where one character inspects a mark
on her shoulder seems to earmark this sentiment.) This sudden downturn
strengthens, not weakens the film because it provides a real glimpse into how
some politicians are literally made, if not born. As recent history in
American politics suggests, all is not what it seems during Levinson's film.
A non-stop laugh-fest with Williams wouldn't have done the important issues that
come with ascendancy to the modern-day American presidency any credible justice.
"Man of The Year" proves that politics is no laughing matter.
The "Manchurian" paranoia comes in the form of Eleanor Green -- as played in a
brilliantly unhinged way by Laura Linney -- a Colleen Rowley-type whistleblower
-- Linney impersonates an FBI agent in the film -- who breaks bad news about the
presidential "victory" to Dobbs, who in the meantime has been dressing up as
Thomas Jefferson and living it up as he prepares for his inauguration as
president. Green is a Delacroy employee who has been testing the company's
voting machine software codes and finds that a glitch in the software
alphabetically pre-arranges the winner regardless of the number of votes cast
for that particular candidate. As gently intimated earlier in this review,
it is difficult to watch "Man of The Year" without thinking about non-fictional
American politics, especially with the infamous Bush-Gore election of 2000 and
the voter database scrub-list scandals interrupting that election.
Delacroy's owner Hemmings (played by Rick Roberts) has big money at stake in the
company's stock, which has been thriving as the company's paperless electronic
voting machines have become the standard machine across the United States.
Hemmings has a henchman in Alan Stewart (Jeff Goldblum), a shadowy, intimidating
presence who is shot mostly in silhouette in his scenes with Linney. Some
of the interactions Linney's character finds herself in here are reminiscent of
"The Firm", Sydney Pollack's 1993 film where Tom Cruise's lawyer character gets
in way over his head as an associate in a shady law firm. Linney is the
real treasure of this film -- she plays vulnerable, risk-taker and endangered
heroine and excels at all three.
The great thing about "Man of The Year" is the way its symmetry is so effective.
At the beginning a comedian makes jokes about politics in a serious way on his
show and by the end, a would-be politician makes a revelation during a comedy
segment on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Report". In a sense, "Weekend
Report" was a segment on "Saturday Night Live" that in some ways heralded the
start of a new era of television show comedians poking fun at real world
politics and news. This skillful symmetrical set-up indicates that in
comedy lies painful truths. Many a truth spoken in jest, the saying goes,
and Levinson's "Man" demonstrates this not only in its start and finish but also
in its in-betweens. [Now, comedians turned satirists Bill Maher, Jon
Stewart, Stephen Colbert weigh in on a nightly and weekly basis --- and one
former "Saturday Night Live" alum (Al Franken) is close to announcing whether
he'll run for political office.]
Levinson's intelligent script is littered with subtle analogies or hints to
real-life political happenings -- from voting machines to media punditry (Chris
Matthews plays an anchorman who presides over the results of the presidential
election in which Dobbs is running as an independent. Democratic political
strategist, author and commentator James Carville also makes an appearance.)
The debate between the three candidates (President Kellogg - Democrat, Senator
Mills - Republican, are the other two) is a refreshing classic, as Williams and
Levinson subvert the prototypical political debate format. As Williams
delves into his riffs including the line, "you want an amendment for same-sex
marriage? Anyone who's ever been married knows it's always the same sex!"
the moderator (played by Faith Daniels, an anchor and newscaster-reporter in
reality) is nearly apoplectic. Dobbs doesn't stop there either. He
interrupts the other candidates with such lines as "maybe we should be like
NASCAR with the little patches on the back -- Enron -- we take your money and
run!" There is a lot of honesty exhibited by Dobbs, and Levinson's
script relishes this -- as if yearning for candidates to be more real in the
political arena in real life.
The only weaknesses of "Man of The Year" are the wholly unnecessary
narration in the film by Christopher Walken's character Jack Menken, the man who
manages Dobbs' comedy show and naturally manages his political campaign.
It seems that Levinson may not have known how better to pace the film. The
other drawback is that the film could have delved even deeper into the politics
and become provocative and edgy rather than only melodramatic and suspenseful.
That tactic would have pushed the film to the limit, even if it may have turned
off audiences. While some audiences may still be a little disappointed
after seeing the trailer previews that don't hint at the full weight of the
seriousness of the film, "Man of The Year" is a better effort because of, not in
spite of its change in tone.
"Man of The Year" is rated PG-13 for language including
some crude sexual references, drug-related material, and brief violence.
The film runs for one hour and 55 minutes.
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