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Man of the Year [HD]

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

A funny movie that reflects people's general feeling of disgust with today's political system. No matter what political party you belong to, if any, you will love this movie. Robin Williams stars as a comedian/talk-show host who campaigns as an independent candidate for President because he's tired of both Democrats and Republicans and wants to give America an alternative choice. He becomes Ross Perot on speed. I sat through this movie thinking "I might vote for this guy" and, when the movie ended in the theater, people actually stood up and applauded indicating how it was hitting home. I can't wait to see the Director's Cut to find out what was left out! It's a must see and a must own!!!

The '06 release of the DVD `Man of the Year' is a tale of two movies not so cleverly disguised as one. It begins like a house on fire leading the viewer to expect this to be the comedy of the year, a tour-de-force by the incomparable Robin Williams as talk show host and comedian Tom Dobbs, soon to become the president-elect of the Unite States. With the presence of Christopher Walken in the role of his personal manager Jack Menken the movie appears on track for a laugh a minute feature.

However all the clever and funny political ranting and raving that distinguishes the first half of the film are sadly and unexpectedly put aside for a not so intriguing conspiracy drama that pushes what Robin Williams does best into the background where he is forced to passively watch the second half of the film wind down into mediocrity. Robin does fire up the comedic monologue again just before the end and thankfully is able to partially save what would have otherwise been a major disaster.

Too bad director Barry Levinson couldn't make up his mind about what kind of film he wanted to make. 'Man of the Year' had the right lead man and cast in place for what could have been a cultural classic to rival Sidney Lumet's 'Network' from '76. What happened Barry?

In Man of The Year, Robin Williams plays a comedic talk show host Tom Dobbs. One set of viewers suggest him for politic office. It starts a grass roots campaign for President of the United States. This film is a good satire on politics

Suddenly, his comic rants make sense to Americans. With the political season starting up, this film is timely and to the point.

Barry Levinson who directed Williams in Good Morning Vietnam Good Morning, Vietnam (Special Edition), keeps a loose rein on Williams in his rants. And if this is film is scripted, you would never know. Williams makles this text his own.Williams's comedy in this movie is part satire and part stand up comedy

Surrounded by a supporting cast (Christopher Walken, Lewis Black and Laura Linney) that truly supports its lead actor. This makes this comedy work better than most poltical satires (like Wag the Dog or Primary Colors). The problem is the sub plots with Linney of a rigged election and Walken's illness that seems not to work for me

There are moments of sound gaps in Williams's Stand up, but it ma,es it most like a political banter

The problem is the ending seems too pat for my tastes. It gives a great punch and then end falls flat and does not work for me.

If you LOVE Robin Williams, you will overlook the faults and enbrace this film with open arms

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

After a spate of roles that Robin Williams elected to play to prove he can be other than a funny guy, roles that were dark and foreboding, along comes the surprise film MAN OF THE YEAR and Williams has the opportunity to shine in both his unbridled comic banter and his more serious and even tender side. The film was marketed with a Thomas Jefferson cum George Washington wig atop Williams' head and for this viewer that was enough to avoid the film in theaters. But don't be fooled by that bit of chicanery and foolish choice of PR: this film has so much truth about our political system that it is a springboard for the best in comic writing.

Tom Dobbs is a late night talk show host with a political slant (read Bill Maher type etc) who responds to an audience question 'Why don't you run for President?' by deciding to do so, much to the chagrin of this manager Jack Menken (Christopher Walken in a wonderfully underplayed role at last!) and writer Eddie Langston (Lewis Black). Dobbs is just fed up enough with the government being run by people who have to pay off the lobbyists that get them elected and the big corporate supporters and spend money on everything BUT the people they serve: he seems to be as likely a candidate as any - and the public via email and media support prove him correct. He debates as an Independent candidate with both the Democrat and Republican and wins the debate hands down. AND he is elected.

But there is a problem: The new voting system is by a computer company run by Alan Stewart (Jeff Goldblum) and workers Eleanor Green (Laura Linney is a terrific role) and Danny (the hunky and fine David Alpay). Eleanor discovers a glitch in the computer program that reveals that Dobbs did not indeed win the election and the rest of the film is how she confronts Dobbs with the truth and how Dobbs and crew deal with it. Suffice it to say that Dobbs' manner of coping makes us wish that he indeed were the President!

The cast is strong and for this viewer the fine balance between comedy and true drama that writer/director Barry Levinson achieves is not only the stuff of fine film making: it is also wise and should be viewed by a very wide audience. Robin Williams manages to be both his inimitable funny self as well as offer a touching three-dimensional performance of a citizen at odds with the current political system. And Laura Linney adds yet another fine role to her ever-increasing repertoire. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 07

Have you ever thought about what might happen if Jon Stewart, host of His own popular Comedy Central television show taking a daily, critical look at the news and politics, ran for President of the United States? Well, you don't need to. Writer/ director Barry Levinson ("Wag the Dog", "Rainman", "Tin Men") has done the thinking for you in his new film "Man of the Year" starring Robin Williams.

Tom Dobbs (Williams), star of a popular comedy show taking a critical look at daily news and politics, announces he is going to run for President of the United States. An audience member makes the suggestion during the warm up and everyone in the studio goes nuts. The irreverent comedian decides to make the announcement, more as a joke, but before he can whistle the Star Spangled Banner, he is on the ballot in 13 states and criss crossing the country in a campaign bus. His longtime manager (Christopher Walken) and writer (Lewis Black) both feel he needs to let loose and take advantage of his moment in the spotlight, but Dobbs feels he must remain serious and discuss the issues. Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), a programmer at a large computer company who manufactured the electronic tolling booths, realizes there is an error with the program. Her bosses turn a deaf ear; if she is right, the profits will plummet. Eleanor decides to try to contact the President-Elect and they form a friendship that gradually grows into something more significant. But will she be able to tell him he didn't actually win the election? And if so, what will he do?

"Man of the Year" contains a few of William's trademark riffs, but the film is, more or less, a drama. This is not necessarily a bad thing, even though the film is being marketed as a comedy. What is more disappointing is that the film doesn't go far enough to take a critical look at the politics or news of the day.

Imagine if you were watching "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and he started telling a mix of standard jokes, not related to the daily politics or news. It wouldn't be very interesting. "Man of the Year" suffers from the same problem.

Williams is allowed to do a few of his comedic rants; during a segment set at his television show, during a televised debate with the Democratic President and his Republican running mate, but the jokes are extremely vague. Dobbs talks about education, same sex marriage, flag burning and more. Sure, these are topics we are concerned with, but his jokes aren't specific, they only address the issues in a vague way. Nothing about the War in Iraq, the Hurricane Katrina debacle, congressional scandals, lobbyist scandals, etc. Because Dobbs is rather vague, and Dobbs is the centerpiece of the film, the film is also vague.

The one point when the film makes anything close to a pointed barb at politics is during the televised debate. Both the Democratic President running for reelection and the Republican Senator running against him are spouting the same buzzwords, talking about how similar they are. Sound familiar? Now, if Levinson had really wanted to take this home, they would talk about "Lock Boxes", but he doesn't go that far. There is a nice moment during the debate when the Republican Senator is caught on camera during Dobbs tirade. The Senator realizes he is on camera, and just smiles, trying to win votes.

"Man of the Year" is interesting and amusing for the first thirty minutes or so, when Dobbs is still a television personality and running for the Presidency. But when Dobbs begins his campaign, he addresses the public in all seriousness. Both Menken (Walken) and Eddie (Lewis Black) implore him to cut loose, use the few moments he has to get the people thinking. But he takes the campaign very seriously and bores the public. Unfortunately, he bores us in the process. Only during the debate does he really cut loose.

The film also includes a lengthy and distracting subplot about the company behind the Electronic Polling Places. Early in the film, Eleanor (Linney), runs some tests on the computer model. Every time she votes for the Republican Senator, the President still wins. She brings up the problem to her supervisors, including the company President who tells her it isn't important. Then, when Dobbs joins the race, she realizes he will win the election in the states he is on the ballot. A couple of times, the film shows Eleanor placed in danger, as part of the conspiracy. But this does nothing for the film's politics. It takes time away from the main story, that of an irreverent comedian running for President, and telling the people what they need to hear, which means there is less time for the candidate to actually say anything about the political system.

Also, this storyline seems like something more at home in a film based on a John Grisham or David Balducci book. But in those films, you would not have Williams playing a television comedian running for President. You would have Gene Hackman or David Straitharn playing the Presidential candidate, without the jokes.

Because of all of this unnecessary, extra stuff, the film loses focus. Real fast.

Then, when Eleanor tries to tell Dobbs what she has learned, she becomes charmed by him. Thus, we have another subplot, involving their romance. Will she be able to tell him what happened? What will happen if she does?

When Christopher Walken is in a film, you can expect at least a little oddball goofiness. He has a couple of monologues, but his character is quickly taken out of the picture and he becomes a background fixture, appearing only briefly throughout.

Lewis Black, normally very acerbic on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart", seems to have been cast to simply sit around and laugh at William's few jokes.

"Man of the Year" is even more disappointing when you consider the other films Barry Levinson has directed. But let's just consider this film with "Wag the Dog". There is no comparison. "Wag" had something to say about our current preoccupation with media and politics. "Man" has nothing to say about anything pressing right now. I have heard that, perhaps, this was done to prevent the film from becoming dated. Then why not have Dobbs rail against the pathetic voter turnout in our country, our apathetic view towards politics, something that is chronically wrong with our system. Because the film attempts to address some particularly vague ideas, it doesn't successfully capture our attention or move us to action.

Tom Dobbs (played by Robin Williams) is a late night comedian who pokes fun at all things political. One evening, a woman stands up and suggests he run for President. The emails start flooding in. Soon, Tom Dobbs is a candidate.

A computer error puts Dobbs over the top and makes him the President-elect. But when the program creator wants to go public with the news, the parent company (not wanting to lose their huge capital gains), conspires to hurt her, trash her, and ruin her. The movie makers seem to be having trouble at this point trying to decide if they are making a comedy or a drama.

Even Tom Dobbs himself is torn over the issue of whether or not to play it straight or to be the comic relief during the presidential campaign.

Critics have savaged this movie for its seeming ambivalence about which genre to embrace. But I like a movie where you can laugh and also be on your toes at the same time. I feel that this film is underrated and underappreciated. I give it four stars.

I have read review after review on this movie, and everyone always mentions how it's not a comedy. This isn't a comedy. This is just like Thank You For Smoking, it's a literal movie. Robin Williams' comedy in this movie isn't supposed to be FUNNY, it's just said in a way with no B.S. or candy-coating. This movie, next to The Prestige, is one of the best this year so far. Don't watch this if you are expecting Robin Williams in his funniest role. Watch this if you want to see a good movie, and can even learn from it.

Man I wanted to really see this movie when I saw the preview in theaters. Sadly I found out the whole movie was in the previews. It may have been a little better if I hadn't seen the preview. As much as I wanted it to be a good video it seemed to get worse and worse as it went on. It turns into a crazy conspiracy theory movie. Not really what it should be and it seemed to drag on. I really wanted to like this one especially because I'm a big Robin Williams fan, but I couldn't. Sorry to say its not worth your time to watch it.

Many people seem to be rating this film badly based upon failed expectations. The fact that Robin Williams is the main star certainly raises expectations of a laugh out loud comedy that will leave you in stitches. If you're looking for a laugh out loud comedy that is about as deep as Talledega Nights or Tommy Boy you will no doubt be disappointed. This really is, however, a great movie. The story is a deep one about doing the right thing and being yourself. Robin Williams is the only actor in my opinion that could have pulled this off. If you're looking for a movie with a great story with humor thrown in this is the movie for you. If you're looking for a movie to watch only for laughs I recommend picking up a Chris Farley classic. For myself, I loved the story and I loved everything Robin Williams. This will be a classic that I buy and watch over and over.

Many folks seem quite disgruntled that they were misled about the genre of this film by the ad campaign. I'm not sure any of that is actually relevant to the film itself. This film is deeper than comedies at the level of Talladega Nights or Wedding Crashers, sorry. It is a thriller more than a laugh-out-loud comedy. It is not completely successful, but I think that has more to do with other elements besides its meshing of these two genres. After reading the tepid reviews, I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. You might be too. Laura Linney delivers an impressive performance in her role as whistle-blower.