RSS FeedMovie Review: Man of the Year
Let me be honest: I didn't expect greatness from Man of the Year. I'm not a huge Robin Williams fan, and sometimes find his constant barrage of jokes, his seeming need to be "always on," to be a bit annoying. But I thought the premise of him as the President of the United States had promise; I thought Man of the Year could really go somewhere, with the right writers. Throw into the mix a favorite comedian of mine, Lewis Black, add some cow bell with Christopher Walken, and basically the movie's done. You can bet it will be formulaic and silly, but suddenly I'm thinking Man of the Year will be an entertaining movie. With the right writers.
But apparently the right writer wasn't chosen, nor the right director, nor the right producer, who was, for all of the above, Barry Levinson (Envy, Wag The Dog, Good Morning Vietnam). The movie simply never decides what it wants be: a silly comedy? A political drama? Maybe a scary thriller? Sometimes the direction of the movie changes so quickly it's hard to tell where we're at.
Robin Williams plays Tom Dobbs, a political talk show host in the vein of Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) or Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect). The movie begins with Dobb's manager, Jack Menken (Christopher Walken), quickly recounting the host's rise from talk show host to Independent candidate for the presidency, explaining as well how the year's election would be decided by electronic vote. This all happens within about the first half hour, with Dobbs touring the country giving speeches about what he believes is wrong with our political system and what he would like to change. Most of this is fairly straight-forward, with a few jokes thrown in to keep us believing that maybe this is a comedy.
(Article continues after break; spoilers ahead!)
But apparently the right writer wasn't chosen, nor the right director, nor the right producer, who was, for all of the above, Barry Levinson (Envy, Wag The Dog, Good Morning Vietnam). The movie simply never decides what it wants be: a silly comedy? A political drama? Maybe a scary thriller? Sometimes the direction of the movie changes so quickly it's hard to tell where we're at.
Robin Williams plays Tom Dobbs, a political talk show host in the vein of Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) or Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect). The movie begins with Dobb's manager, Jack Menken (Christopher Walken), quickly recounting the host's rise from talk show host to Independent candidate for the presidency, explaining as well how the year's election would be decided by electronic vote. This all happens within about the first half hour, with Dobbs touring the country giving speeches about what he believes is wrong with our political system and what he would like to change. Most of this is fairly straight-forward, with a few jokes thrown in to keep us believing that maybe this is a comedy.
(Article continues after break; spoilers ahead!)