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Plot: Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal.
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:September 26, 2008I didn't find a decent connection between the name of the film and the plot. Didn't grab me, although I understood most of the story. They created a fake war through the media, right? But to what end? Not sure..
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MCT:September 17, 2008Why is Dustin Hoffman's name situated over Robert De Niro and vice versa on the movie poster? Are they trying to confuse us (me)?
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MCT:July 17, 2008Kind of weird. Well acted and somewhat original, but it certainly had it's boring moments. Dustin Hoffman was pretty funny in this at least.
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MCT:July 12, 2008
Clever and funny satire about media manipulation. Although I liked the story and the characters and the crazy ideas, the movie itself loses it's drive after a while and gets a little bit boring. But it's worth watching anyway, especially because the topic is still relevant.
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MCT:July 6, 2008Wag the Dog is not only funny, but still as relevant with Bush being president as was it was for Clinton when he was president. I like beans.
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MCT:June 23, 2008
Wag the Dog was a pretty good movie, it was exciting to see how they were able to manipulate everyone.
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MCT:June 10, 2008
This rings even more true today, the thing is, the Irak war was not faked at all.
Hoffman was very fun to watch, and Woody Harrelson steals the whole thing near the end with a brief but hillarious role. Mamet might bee a conservative idiot, but he still can write good stuff from time to time. -
MCT:June 2, 2008
Satire at it's best. Makes you suspicious of anything everything and especially what you see on television.
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MCT:April 27, 2008
There is not too much more to be said about the premise of "Wag the Dog" that hasn't been said already in light of unmentionable goings-on at the White House.
Conrad Brean (DeNiro) is a Presedential spin doctor who is consulted by top aide, Winifred Ames (Heche), when the President is accused of getting involved with a White House intern in the Oval Office. With a Presedential election just weeks away, both of them know that they must act fast in order to divert attention from the bubbling scandal.
Brean invents an international conflict between the United States and Albania. In order to ensure that the public believe that a war is actually happening, he enlists the help of Hollywood producer, Stanley Motss (Hoffman). Motss is given responsibility for shooting scenes that will be used in news reports while Willie Nelson is hired to perform a spontaneous war "anthem".
The CIA are not impressed. They guess what is going on and go to lengths to end the charade. But Brean and Motss has more tricks up their sleeve and they up their efforts in order to ensure a successful campaign for the President. When the war is ended prematurely in the media, they invent another scenario where troops have to return to Albania to rescue a POW called William Schumann (Woody Harrelson in typical bald-headed fashion).
The dialogue was mainly written by David Mamet and the quality in the exchanges between Hoffman and DeNiro is exquisite. DeNiro is a quick-thinking manipulative brain-box and his partnership with the insecure but intelligent Hoffman is the highlight of the film. Both of them deliver very different but striking performances. Anne Heche does well as DeNiro's slightly neurotic sidekick and helps to add elements of fragility to the whole exercise. There are entertaining performances too from Leary, Harrelson and Nelson too.
The film moves along quickly and the entertainment is instantaneous right from the opening frame. There are times when tedium sets in momentarily - the characters at time becomes flat and the movie seems to lull into a slightly repetitve pattern. However, this is never a huge problem and thanks to the humour, biting satire (which is not too far from reality in all seriousness) and performances, "Wag the Dog" is a film that is well worth seeing. -
MCT:April 11, 2008
A fantastic satire film about American politics. Robert De Niro plays a spin-doctor trying to 'fix' the President's reputation after a sex scandal. They hire a big producer to "fabricate" a war.
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MCT:March 22, 2008
CIA Agent Mr. Young: There are two things I know to be true. There's no difference between good flan and bad flan, and there is no war."
A very funny, smart political satire about spinning the truth. When the president is in trouble a week before election time, a spin doctor, played by Robert De Niro, is called in to fix things. His plan: produce a war on television to keep the American public's attention elsewhere. To do this they enlist a big Hollywood producer, played by Dustin Hoffman, to get all the necessary elements to produce a war.
Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman play very well off each other, and the rest of the cast, which includes Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, and Woody Harrelson, is in very good form as well.
The script was written by David Mamet, and his fast and sharp dialog propels the movie forward even more. There are some very funny moments that have points of making one wonder how off the truth this can really be, even if the situations go more and more out there.
Director Barry Levinson once again shows how effective his balance of tone separating the satire from the more overtly humorous moments, as well as making this a well directed film in general.
Particularly effective are the moments involving the actual work put into giving the impression of a war and Hoffman's performance that earned him an Oscar nomination.
Conrad 'Connie' Brean: What's the thing people remember about the Gulf War? A bomb falling down a chimney. Let me tell you something: I was in the building where we filmed that with a 10-inch model made out of Legos.
Stanley Motss: Is that true?
Conrad 'Connie' Brean: Who the hell's to say? -
MCT:March 16, 2008
This movie is a must-see, no matter what your political persuasion. You will see how both sides do their dirty work here. Granted, it's just a fictional rendering, but it's worth paying attention to.
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MCT:February 12, 2008
I need to see it again, but I remember liking it. A few holes in the plot, but a clever look at the affect of the American media.
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MCT:February 10, 2008Wag The Dog Has A Wonderful Script And A Great Cast ( Hoffman Is Amazing Deniro Is Good And Heche is Good ) It's A Smart Movie ANd Very Very Brilliant
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MCT:January 30, 2008
An interesting idea... especially considering the political situation of the time. It's a pretty major stretch to use the Hollywood guy like they do.
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MCT:January 24, 2008
Maybe I was expecting something else, but this movie just didn'[t work for me. Maybe I just don't get satire.
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MCT:January 12, 2008
Sex scandel, Manipulation of facts, a naive candidate~ This a razor sharp, funny film, Where Hoffman out acts DeNiro Imho taking you behind the scenes, in an over the top view of a spin doctor and his client.
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MCT:January 7, 2008
Actually quite a good little film. Haven't watched it in a few years, but I remember really liking it!
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MCT:December 12, 2007
Very depressing when you come to think of how close to reality this is. Anyways, Hoffman as the Hollywood producer comes up with some of the funniest quotes I have ever heard: "They told me I couldn't remake Moby Dick...
...from the point of view of the whale. $450 million domestic." -
MCT:November 26, 2007
This movie may not be as entertaining as when it was first released, but it was a "life imitates art" experience at the time.
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MCT:November 23, 2007
A clever satire, great moments of acting and a surprisingly refreshing sensation due to a quite unusual side effect, i.e. the fact that there is no love story in that brilliant flick...
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MCT:October 10, 2007
Robert De Niro! Dustin Hoffman! What more can I say? This will make you view all media sources with a more discerning eye.
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MCT:October 8, 2007This is a movie that slipped through a memory hole to be somewhat forgotten. Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman in a movie about politics and no one remembers it? I will be personally responsible for bring the gem that Wag The Dog is back into the light.
The President of the United States is being sued for molesting a girl scout just days before the election. The big guys calling in Robert DeNiro to spin a cover-up. To do this he starts an imaginary war. The only one that can help with this is a movie producer with a losing record, Dustin Hoffman.
This movie makes you think about everything that you see on TV. I still don't believe anything about anything because of this movie (then the Matrix came out and totally fucked me up). Not only do politicians lie, but they use the media to broadcast their bullshit.
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