MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Up 153 this week

Wag the Dog (1997)

 -  Comedy | Drama  -  9 January 1998 (USA)
7.1
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.1/10 from 52,305 users   Metascore: 73/100
Reviews: 205 user | 128 critic | 22 from Metacritic.com

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:

Writers:

(book), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 964 titles created 10 Mar 2012
 
a list of 2364 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 3627 titles created 4 weeks ago
 
a list of 164 titles created 8 months ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Wag the Dog (1997)

Wag the Dog (1997) on IMDb 7.1/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Wag the Dog.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

Satirical comedy follows the machinations of Big Tobacco's chief spokesman, Nick Naylor, who spins on behalf of cigarettes while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.

Director: Jason Reitman
Stars: Joan Lunden, Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.

Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller
Argo (2012)
Drama | History | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.

Director: Ben Affleck
Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin
Wonder Boys (2000)
Drama | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

An English Professor tries to deal with his wife leaving him, the arrival of his editor who has been waiting for his book for seven years, and the various problems that his friends and associates involve him in.

Director: Curtis Hanson
Stars: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

A man joins the political campaign of a smooth-operator candidate for president of the USA.

Director: Mike Nichols
Stars: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Kathy Bates
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A delusional young guy strikes up an unconventional relationship with a doll he finds on the Internet.

Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider
Comedy | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X  

An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna
About Schmidt (2002)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A man upon retirement embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Director: Alexander Payne
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, Hope Davis
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Director: Noah Baumbach
Stars: Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney
Juno (2007)
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.

Director: Jason Reitman
Stars: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner
Smoke (1995)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

A Brooklyn smoke shop is the center of neighborhood activity, and the stories of its customers.

Director: Wayne Wang
Stars: Giancarlo Esposito, José Zúñiga, Harvey Keitel
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
CIA Agent Charles Young
...
John Levy
...
Grace
...
Sergeant William Schumann
Michael Belson ...
President
...
Amy Cain
...
A.D.
...
Director
Edit

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. Written by Christy

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

A Hollywood producer. A Washington spin-doctor. When they get together, they can make you believe anything. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

9 January 1998 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Bite the Bullet  »

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

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the funeral scene, soldiers in the military band are played by members of the Riverside Community College marching band. See more »

Goofs

In one scene Dustin Hoffman comments that "there is no Academy Award for producing." While there is no Academy Award titled "Best Producer", the Best Picture Oscar is the Oscar awarded to Producers. See more »

Quotes

Conrad 'Connie' Brean: Stanley, don't do this. You're playing with your life here.
Stanley Motss: Fuck my life! I want the credit.
See more »

Crazy Credits

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

Connections

Referenced in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

"I LIKE THE NIGHTLIFE"
Written by Alicia Bridges & Susan Hutcheson
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

Fascinating and Interesting.
3 July 2002 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Barry Levinson's under-rated "Wag the Dog" is a brilliant piece of satire which is to the 1990s what "All the President's Men" was to the 1970s. The president is in trouble after a sexual scandal with an under-aged girl. Enter Robert DeNiro and Anne Heche who want to distract the nation with something else as they try to get their boss out of the hot seat. The only problem is: nothing is going on. So it is up to them to create something to rally the country around the executive-in-chief. Now enter sleazy, but high class Hollywood director Dustin Hoffman (in a well-deserved Oscar-nominated turn) who is contacted to start an imaginary war. He agrees and the plan works, but as time goes by more and more problems occur and the lies continue to snow-ball. Levinson's excellent direction and Hilary Henkin's clever screenplay raise the performances of all involved. Naturally DeNiro and Hoffman are guaranteed to excel in a film like this, but good work is also done by people like Heche, Denis Leary, William H. Macy, Woody Harrelson and even Willie Nelson (!?). Somewhat ignored in 1997, but still one of the best films of that year and one of the more important films of the 1990s. 4.5 out of 5 stars.


41 of 43 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Please explain why it wasn't BORING + CHILDISH kag2-1
A really BAD film!! teekay70
Patronising godels_sprog
They did this movie already in 1995 dreamerboi23
Shuman = Jessica Lynch chris98383
How did CIA react? guoyandao
Discuss Wag the Dog (1997) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?