Wag The Dog Grade: B- (Wait for Video and/or discount shows)
Directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Toys, Avalon) Written for the screen by Hillary Henkin and David Mamet (Oleanna, Homicide) from the novel American Hero by Larry Beinhart Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Willie Nelson, Denis Leary Year of Release: 1997 Rating: R
Deserves Recognition for: Actor (Hoffman), and an almost Criswell-like ability to anticipate a certain current scandal
Capsule Review: This ultra-satirical comedy has a great writer (David Mamet), an exemplary cast (Hoffman, Deniro, Anne Heche, and Woody Harrelson to name a few), and a killer, eerily prescient, hook (in order to get a struggling President reelected , Hollywood & Washington team up to declare war on an unsuspecting Albania), - so why isn't it funnier, dammit? Director Barry Levinson, whose comedic sense has drastically slipped since the days of DINER and TIN MEN, struggles to find the right tone here, resulting in a film that, for every scene of genuine hilarity, all too often just lies there smirking at itself about how darn clever it is. Still, there are some truly inspired bits, and Hoffman does his best work in years as a thinly-veiled caricature of the legendarily egomaniacal producer Robert Evans. If for no other reason, watch it sometime for William H. Macy's cameo as a secret agent with some definite views on Mexican Desserts.
Copyright 1998 by The Critic formerly known as Andrew Wright For more insanely biased reviews, check out http://www.seanet.com/~louk/ e-mail louk@seanet.com
"Saturday Night Thing. Drunken Hillbilly Bar Fight. My Soul Rejoices."
A Haiku in honor of ROADHOUSE A9Andrew L. Wright esq.
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