Wag the Dog (1997)

reviewed by
Nathaniel R. Atcheson


Wag the Dog (1997)

Director: Barry Levinson Cast: Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, Andrea Martin Rated R: Language, adult themes

by Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)

Wag the Dog is one of the smartest, most self-aware pictures of the year. There isn't a chance it misses with it's witty satire of the government and the Hollywood process. Each character seems to be an exaggerated stereotype, whether it be a film producer, CIA agent, or a White House official. Directed by Barry Levinson with poker-faced dryness, Wag the Dog is a film that should be studied by anyone interested in making a satire.

But I didn't like it. It has almost nothing that I love to see in films. And I'm torn here, because I realize that this is the point. It is a satire--and a good one at that--but without a likable character in site, without a drop of real human emotion, without a speck of good nature or good intentions, I found it hard to sit through this film without squirming. In fact, I didn't. I squirmed a lot. Maybe I should recommend it based on this--clearly the point of this film is not just to make fun of the government, but to make the public a little bit worried about what's going on behind the scenes. The simple fact is that I just didn't enjoy it.

Robert De Niro stars as Conrad Brean, a guy who works for the president (his exact job title is never disclosed); his efforts in this film all point to one ultimate objective--reelect the president. This, of course, means faking a war in Albania with the help of big-time film producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman). They stage ten seconds of video footage with a little girl holding a kitten, running through a war-torn village. They hire a songwriter (Willie Nelson) to make a happy theme song. Later, they even create a man who allegedly was left behind in Albania. His name is Schumann (Woody Harrelson), and he is psychotic. The public refers to him affectionately as "Old Shoe," but of course they don't realize that he's spent the last twelve years in a military prison for raping a nun.

I never thought I'd see a film that actually surpasses the implications of the word "scathing." This film is beyond scathing. "Acidic" doesn't even do it justice--this is like 200 molar acidic (which is so concentrated that the word "acidic" no longer has meaning). If you dropped a reel of Wag the Dog on the ground, it would burn through the floor and eventually end up at the center of the earth.

Okay, so I'm going a little overboard. I did think a lot of this film was very funny. The whole business involving Schumann was great, especially the resolution to the situation. Just the thought of faking a war seems ludicrous to me, and after much thought, this aspect is also outright funny. Much of the film is funny in that delayed-laughter sort of way, where it takes some thought to realize how silly the situation is, and then you are permitted to laugh. This film also takes some bold chances, with a fairly subtle message about the American public that isn't exactly positive.

It's just that I found it . . . lifeless. Sure, the comedy is energetic. The sheer effort that went into making such a serious jab at the reelection process is definitely complete. But for the most part, I found it to be lethargic. Scenes fumble from one moment to the next, without having any real obvious objective. For example, as they were composing the phony video footage, I couldn't even guess where the story was going to go from there. It didn't seem to have motivation; the Schumann element came out of nowhere.

In addition, I find it hard, if not impossible, to enjoy a film when I dislike all of the characters, no matter how satirical they're supposed to be. Films that I consider satires (or at least black comedies) always have at least one character with whom audiences can identify--Brazil, for example, features a main character with whom we can all empathize. I realize that Wag the Dog is an entirely different kind of film, but I think that if either Conrad or Stanley had been a little bit more down-to-earth, I could have found something in this film that might make me care. De Niro plays Conrad so subtly two-faced that he almost seems nice sometimes (until you realize that he's about to have you executed). Hoffman, on the other hand, plays an individual so wrapped up in himself that reality is long gone, and he's become a rich, pathetic man barely worth a second look. Even the supporting characters played competently by Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, and Willie Nelson lack anything even remotely appealing.

And so, I am put in a strange position. Should I recommend this film based on the fact that it clearly does what it has set out to do? I suppose that's what I'm doing. I, however, like to see something with a glimpse of good-heartedness in it. Even films as entirely negative and dreary as Seven don't feel this cynical. Wag the Dog has a uniquely wretched mood, an ineffable level of skepticism guided right towards the government and the American public that it's wagging. I fear that if they had done what I suggest and create characters or situations that elicit an emotional response, then it would have lost much of the desired potency. I'm more inclined to believe that a film like this simply can not satisfy my tastes.

>From 0-10:  6
Grade:  C+

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         Nathaniel R. Atcheson

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