Man of the Year (2006)

A comedian who hosts a news satire program decides to run for president, and a computerized voting machine malfunction gets him elected.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer:

Barry Levinson

Stars:

Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Tom Dobbs
Christopher Walken	...	Jack Menken
Laura Linney	...	Eleanor Green
Lewis Black	...	Eddie Langston
Jeff Goldblum	...	Stewart
David Alpay	...	Danny
Faith Daniels	...	Moderator
Tina Fey	...	Herself
Amy Poehler	...	Herself
Doug Murray	...	Mathias
Chris Matthews	...	News Anchor #1
James Carville	...	Political Commentator #1
Cathleen Crier	...	Political Commentator #2
Rick Roberts	...	Hemmings
Karen Hines	...	Alison McAndrews

Storyline

Tom Dobbs, comedic host of a political talk show - a la Bill Maher and Jon Stewart - runs for President of the US as an independent candidate who, after an issues-oriented campaign and an explosive performance in the final debate, gets just enough votes to win. Trouble is he owes his victory to a computer glitch in the national touch-screen voting system marketed by Delacroy, a private company with a rising stock price. To protect their fortune, Delacroy executives want to keep the glitch a secret, but one programmer, Eleanor Green, wants Dobbs to know the truth. Can she get to him?

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Plot Keywords:

president | satire | election | presidential election | campaign | 

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Taglines:

Elections are made to be broken.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Official site [ru]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre del año

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,299,380 (USA) (13 October 2006)

Gross:

$37,442,180 (USA) (22 November 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robin Williams based his performance on a combination of his own stand up routine and Jay Leno's.

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Goofs

When Dobbs in a guest on SNL, the studio TV camera viewfinders show a 4:3 aspect ratio, yet the studio floor monitors (used by the studio crew to watch the output) are 16:9 aspect ratio. If the studio TV cameras are shooting 4:3, then the studio floor monitors would also be 4:3.

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Quotes

Tom Dobbs: Even in the face of tyranny, there is comedy. Remember those two Jewish commandos who were sent to kill Hitler at 12:30? They waited in an alley with guns, bombs and knives... only Hitler didn't show up. After half an hour came and went, still no Hitler. Finally, one Jew turns to the other and says, "My God, I hope nothing happened to him."

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Connections

References Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Political World"
Written and Performed by Bob Dylan
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment

User Reviews

Not what I expected

This movie was advertised as a comedy but was far more serious than the trailers made it out to be. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie, but was expecting more laughs. Great performances from Robin Williams and Laura Linney. Worth seeing, but don't go expecting to be rolling on the floor. The movie left me wondering what it would be like if Robin Williams character was a real person that was running for president. Would we elect a comedian? I doubt it, unfortunately. That kind of stark honesty is something greatly lacking today. This is a movie that I will be adding to my DVD library as soon as it comes out on DVD. The movie has heart.