Wag the Dog (1997)

Shortly before an election, 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 & 20 nominations.

Cast

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

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:

black comedy | satire | scandal | political corruption | political conspiracy | 

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Taglines:

Why does a dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail. If the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Barry Levinson Production Notes 1

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 USA:

$92,079, 28 December 1997

Gross USA:

$43,061,945

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$64,256,513

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

Barry Levinson: [Ralph Tabakin] Ralph (Southern Man) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).

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Goofs

One of the first opening shots shows an exterior view of the White House with the rooftop flag clearly raised signifying the President is in residence, yet during the first meeting it is said that the President is in China. Another shot of the White House is shown with the flag raised again.

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Quotes

Johnny Dean: [after being asked to write an entirely different song] I was just on my way to get drunk.

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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 S1m0ne (2002)

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Soundtracks

Barracuda
Written by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Michael DeRosier and Roger Fisher

User Reviews

Doesn't quite hit it's stride...

As the calibre of the talent involved would suggest Wag The Dog is a very well acted and directed film, however for some strange reason it isn't a particularly satisfying one.

Perhaps that is mainly due to the fact that it is somewhat of a one joke idea, or maybe it's due to the fact that with current events as they are it's all too plausible and the whole thing of late is somewhat comically overexposed. Whatever it may be in the end you can't help but feeling that the film somehow missed a beat somewhere along the line and ultimately wasn't all that it should or could have been.

That is not to say that this isn't an entertaining film, it is. From the fistful of great performances from Robert Deniro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson and especially Dustin Hoffman who seems to be relishing his role here, to the well played supporting roles filled out by the likes of William H. Macy, Craig T. Nelson, Kirsten Dunst et al 'Wag The Dog' has all the talent performing admirably. It also has a sharp, amusing script (by Hilary Henkin & David Mamet, based on the novel "American Hero" by Larry Beinhart) going for it and Barry Levinson's direction is top notch, but despite being quite entertaining, it also seems too slight by half, and just not focused or funny enough to quite make everything work successfully at the end of the day.

Regardless of it's flaws Wag The Dog is still a fun, well made and entertaining film that deserves to be seen and enjoyed, it just isn't quite able to reach the lofty peak that it aspires to. But just so long as you don't go in expecting an hilarious rib tickler of political satire it's a pretty fair bet that you will be suitably entertained.

One man's opinion. 7.5/10