Man of the Year (2006)

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writer (WGA):

Barry Levinson (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Could this man be our next president?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

President | Satire | Presidential Election | Campaign | Election

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In one scene, playing on a TV in the background is Billy Crystal dressed as a turkey and Robert De Niro as a pilgrim. The clip is from a post-9/11 commercial to boost New York tourism directed by Barry Levinson. In the ad, the two squabble about their costumes as participants on a Macy's Thanksgiving parade float. Crystal tries to persuade De Niro to trade outfits with him, at one point being reduced to parodying the latter actor's famous line from Taxi Driver (1976): "Are you gobbling at me? Are you gobbling at me?"

Goofs:

Plot holes: When the voting machine is shown in action, it shows the votes for each candidate and then calculates the winner. However, since the vote count can be seen, there is no need to calculate a winner. Also, a person could tell which vote count is higher and would not believe the calculations.

Quotes:

Jack Menken: Everyone's going to be writing about how honest you are and how straightforward. I just hope your honesty doesn't undercut your irreverence.
Tom Dobbs: Well I want to do a show about gay farmers and call it "Crop Circles", is that offensive?
Jack Menken: Not to me.

Movie Connections:

References "JAG" (1995)

Soundtrack:

On Approach

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.