Man of the Year

A political satire of a comedian (Williams) who after dissing the political campaigns and presidents is forced into the running. But shockingly we wins and makes a mockery of the office. "Man of the Year" is not the funniest movie nor the best but in small doses it does work. Williams again teaming with Levinson after a hit with "Good Morning, Vietnam". The two seem to have a great chemistry and work off each other. I am not comparing them to Scorsese and DeNiro but you can get the picture. Although I wouldn't quite say to rush out there and see the movie in theaters I would recommend renting it. This movie is a comedy but also has a great satire, please if you like movies like "Scary Movie 4" this is not for you, take your brain with you to see it. - ***

Robin Williams is "Man of the Year" in this 2006 film also starring Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, and Jeff Goldblum. Williams plays comedian Tom Dobbs, a Jon Stewart type who decides to run for President. He gives great speeches, filled with humor, and ruins a televised debate against the incumbent, but wins a standing ovation. He wins.

Laura Linney plays Eleanor Green, who works for the company that developed the new, state of the art voting system, and she realizes that there was a problem with it, and that Dobbs did not win the election. Her superiors absolutely don't want it to come out. Posing as someone from the FBI, she is able to approach the President-elect but gets caught up in his humor and his friendly entourage and doesn't tell him. Meanwhile, the company has gotten rid of her and is taking any steps it can to discredit her.

I knew nothing of this film going in, so I didn't know that it was incorrectly marketed. I found the film an easy mix of hilarious comedy, mostly Williams' routines, and some true drama. This is never easy to do, and often, a film like this doesn't know what it wants to be. That's not the case with "Man of the Year," and I think Levinson's approach is successful. Mostly this is because Robin Williams can do anything - he's a riot, he's warm, he can do real drama, and here he does a wonderful job. Laura Linney gives a terrific performance as a woman who finds herself in terrible trouble as she tries to right a wrong.

Very good movie with a good cast.

I am not a great fan of Robin Williams, although I recognize the immensity and diversity of his talent. And I do not think much of Barry Levinson. But this film is prescient, except that Tom Dobbs, unlike Trump, is a decent man.

There are some movies that almost look like prophecies. In this film, a highly popular comedian leverages his fame and notoriety to create an independent, largely Internet-based support platform, through which he launches an election run to the White House.

The film debuted in 2006, isn't one of the best known in Robbin William's filmography but remains very pertinent and current if we take into account the latest developments in US politics, and the election of the current president, Donald Trump. Like the protagonist, Mr. Trump had no prior political experience and used all of his fame and notoriety to reach the presidency. Both are outsiders, who apply to please those who are tired of conventional politicians. Curious, is not it?

Williams is good in the lead role, which is basically the typical comic character that he knew how to do very well. So, without surprises, he stands out and does a very good job. Behind him, we can see a competent cast of supporting actors. Laura Linney is, perhaps, the actress whose character is more within a dramatic profile. Its around her that a conspiracy revolves around, preventing an electoral error from becoming public and ruining all future prospects of a large technology company. Christopher Walken, for his part, plays a clever political aide with an eye for the show.

How do you know your president is fictional? He passes a law guaranteeing everyone a job (Dave); he's popular among both parties (The American President); he kicks terrorists off a plane (Air Force One); he teams up with his Republican/Democratic archrival on a third-party ticket after someone spends all movie trying to kill them (My Fellow Americans); he ignores Global Warming despite liberal nagging (The Day After Tomorrow); he almost causes an asteroid to hit earth due to lack of faith in an oil-driller astronaut (Armageddon); he gives a life-affirming speech after millions die due to a smaller Asteroid (Deep Impact); or he's just busy fighting off the aliens (Independence Day; Scary Movie 3-4).

In this fictional turn, we get Robin Williams as A Jon Stewart type who launches a populist campaign....and wins. The story begins there. The script is over-the-top, as is the acting, and the characters are stereotypical. Voters want change, and when the voter wants it, the change appears in the form of talk-show host "Comedian Tom Dobbs." Not expecting to win, Dobbs lampoons the usual suspects, reveals his sordid past (some of which is sordid), and asks us, the audience, perpetually, as in every six or eight seconds, if we should be more tolerant of politicians who are like us. He wants change! We get change, but only as a plot device to showcase the evils of electronic voting, and how even when no one intends to steal an election, self-interest causes the same coverups due to stock price rather than a black-ops team like Nixon had. Dobbs is the solution, and if you don't laugh along and agree along like Bill Maher wants you to, well you're just out of the loop. Look at all those people laughing! The best part of the movie was the end, when Dobbs truly comes of age, a changed and improved man from his Washington experience. Christopher Walken as the dying campaign manager was brilliant, and the rest of the cast wasn't bad. Laura Linney gave a creepiness to her role that would have been difficult to duplicate.