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Rating: PG-13
Starring:
Robin Williams as Tom Dobbs
Christopher Walken as Jack Menken
Laura Linney as Eleanor Green
Lewis Black as Eddie Langston
Jeff Goldblum as Alan Stewart
David Alpay as Danny
Faith Daniels as Moderator
Tina Fey as Herself
Amy Poehler as Herself
Doug Murray as Mathias
Special Features:
Commander and Chief: Go on set to see how Barry Levinson got the most hilarious performances out of his all-star cast
Robin Williams: A “Stand Up” Guy
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Language
Spanish and French Subtitles
Running Time: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Comedy superstar Robin Williams (‘RV,’ ‘Birdcage,’ ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’) plays Tom Dobbs, a comedian who made it to the top by telling it like it is. When he decides to run for President to unleash his trademark comic rants on the powers-that-be, something extraordinary happens – he wins! From the director of Good Morning Vietnam and Wag the Dog comes an irreverent comedy hit with a hilarious all-star cast that is sure to win your vote for best comedy of the year!”
“Man of the Year” is rated PG-13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence.
Mini-Review:
The idea behind “Man of the Year” is certainly solid. Who wouldn’t want to see Robin Williams re-teamed with his “Good Morning, Vietnam” director to do a political comedy? And for the most part this movie certainly delivers. Any time Williams is on the screen making political jokes it is working best. But it still has a couple of fatal flaws. There’s a secondary plot where an evil corporation attempts to silence a whistleblower. During these scenes the film steers away from Williams and his jokes and it becomes a lot less interesting. A number of characters also seem to spout out a lot of facts and figures in their dialogue as some way of validating the plot of the film. It was a little unnecessary.
After seeing Robin Williams in so many ‘serious’ roles, it was nice to see him back doing what he does best improvisational comedy. He does seem to have fun taking jabs at both Republicans and Democrats. He’s also backed up by a great supporting cast. These include Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, and Lewis Black. In fact, Black frequently upstages Williams in the political jokes. There are also cameo appearances by Faith Daniels, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.
If you like Robin Williams or any of the supporting cast, then you’ll want to check out this film. It lacks the biting satire of “Wag the Dog,” but there is a fair amount of political humor here.
There are two bonus features included on the DVD. The first is a featurette showing Robin Williams clowning around on the set, doing alternate takes, and more. The cast and crew also talk about working with him. The second featurette is more of your standard “making of” video featuring director Barry Levinson.
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