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, Laura Linney, Lewis Black

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
Catherine 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 | presidential election | election | campaign | satire | 

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Taglines:

What if a Comedian Ran for President?..........What if He Won?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [Russia]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'homme de l'année

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

In one scene, Robin Williams says something to the effect of going on a date with "Rachel Tensions." "Rachel Tensions" was the role RuPaul had in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Robin Williams played "John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt" in the film.

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Goofs

In the movie, Delacroy wins the national contract to supply all voting machines for the upcoming election. This would be impossible, as all conditions for national elections are determined by each state, and not on a national level.

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Quotes

Tom Dobbs: [paying an impromptu visit to Congress] I'll try and be brief, because I know this is the Senate's bingo day... This is not official; it's just our little secret between you, me and the world media.

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Connections

References See It Now (1951)

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Soundtracks

Souvenirs
Written by Cameron Bird, Cecil James, Jamie Mildren, Kellie Sutherland and Sam Perry
Performed by Architecture in Helsinki
Courtesy of Bar None Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music

User Reviews

Better than people will say

When taken as a whole for its ideas and dissection of the current 2-party system and political process, I think this is a great film. Granted the movie was not the comedy I expected, but once I got over that this film really made me think. So much of what we see and hear in regards to any election is such a joke. There is in particular a debate scene in this movie that I felt was a masterful critique of our political debates and how policies are "discussed" at them. I encourage anyone who thinks our process is fine to go see this film. If you want something to laugh at however, Robin Williams and Christopher Walken are not their usual selves. In this movie they show us that the truth hurts, not that the truth is funny.