Wag the Dog (1997)

Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

Larry Beinhart (book), Hilary Henkin (screenplay),

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Stanley Motss
Robert De Niro	...	Conrad Brean
Anne Heche	...	Winifred Ames
Denis Leary	...	Fad King
Willie Nelson	...	Johnny Dean
Andrea Martin	...	Liz Butsky
Kirsten Dunst	...	Tracy Lime
William H. Macy	...	CIA Agent Charles Young
John Michael Higgins	...	John Levy
Suzie Plakson	...	Grace
Woody Harrelson	...	Sergeant William Schumann
Michael Belson	...	President
Suzanne Cryer	...	Amy Cain
Jason Cottle	...	A.D.
David Koechner	...	Director

Storyline

After being caught in a scandalous situation days before the election, the president does not seem to have much of a chance of being re-elected. One of his advisers contacts a top Hollywood producer in order to manufacture a war in Albania that the president can heroically end, all through mass media.

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Plot Keywords:

scandal | hollywood | spin doctor | cover up | death | 

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Taglines:

A comedy about truth, justice and other special effects.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Albanian

Release Date:

9 January 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bite the Bullet

Filming Locations:

El Cholo,1121 S Western, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 709,091 (Germany) (27 March 1998)

Gross:

$43,022,524 (USA) (1 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baltimore Pictures, New Line Cinema, Punch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After this film started production and before its release, US President Bill Clinton became involved in a sex scandal and threatened military action against Iraq.

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Goofs

Air Force One is diverted to Boca Raton, which does not have a runway big enough to handle it.

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Quotes

Conrad 'Connie' Brean: All combat takes place at night, in the rain, and at the junction of four map segments.

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Crazy Credits

"Special Thanks to The Cast and Crew for Completing Principal Photography in 29 Days!"

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Connections

Referenced in Chicago Hope: Wag the Doc (1998)

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Soundtracks

"GOD BLESS THE MEN OF THE 303"
Written by Huey Lewis
Produced and Performed by Scott Matthews, Johnny Colla and Huey Lewis

User Reviews

Short & sharp satire on media manipulation

During the campaign to re-elect the president of America, an underage sex scandal between a girl scout and the president in the oval office. To divert attention spin doctor Conrad Brean is called in to manage the fall out and hold it off for the 11 days till the election. Conrad employs Hollywood producer Stanley Motss to produce a war in Albania to divert the media away from the real story.

This was made before Clinton was accused of misconduct with Monica Lewinsky and the subsequent re-start of military action in Iraq. This seemed to give it a much greater feel of realism and much more credibility. However even before this happened it was still a very sharp and very good satire on political spin, but also managing to have a dig at Hollywood movie types. The story is told in a very stage-play fashion and is dialogue driven with very funny moments throughout. It's not as terrifying as a real look at media manipulation could be because it chooses to be a comedy instead but it still makes plenty of valid points.

The two leads are excellent at the head of an all-star cast. De Niro manages to be a professor-style character while at the same time having an easily accessible sense of menace just beneath the surface. Hoffman is good sending up Hollywood producers well and drawing parallels between the creation of a film and the creation of political news stories. The cast also has a series of cameos and extended cameos who add both humour and quality to the film - Willie Nelson, Denis Leary, James Belsuhi, William H Macy etc.

Recently in the UK we've had huge problems with spin doctors running the Labour Government - to the extent that 11th September was described as "good" by one as it gave them the chance to bury several bad news stories that they had stored up. And more recently with various Governments' waging a media war to win support their stance regarding military action. This film doesn't make hugely serious points but it does make you think about how the media is used to shape public perception and make us think what those in charge want us to think.

Overall a very funny, very clever satire that has a great cast, the only criticism being that it stretches it's point a little too far with the "old shoe" section.