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October 15, 2006

Man of the Year

If you’re heading to see Robin Williams’ new political comedy "Man of the Year" based strictly on the teasers being broadcast on TV, you may be quite disappointed. Contrary to the impression given by the trailers, "Man of the Year" is not really a comedy as much as a political commentary. Fortunately, it's pretty darn good commentary, but it's a bit off-putting when you realize it as you're watching the film. One wonders just what the marketing people were thinking when they put this campaign together.

"Man of the Year" tells the story of Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), a political comedy show host akin to Jon Stewart. During a question and answer period with his audience, a member of the audience suggests that perhaps he should run for President. Dobbs takes her up on the offer, putting his show on hiatus and taking to the campaign trail. Running on a platform of standing up to special interests, Dobbs manages to get on the ballot in 13 states and is invited to the final debate, where he gets real attention by finally cutting loose. (This is where 90% of the trailer footage comes from.) Meanwhile, Congress has unified all voting nationwide with a company called Delacroy, which will provide voting machines nationwide. A Delacroy worker named Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) discovers that there appears to be a glitch in the software allowing President Kellogg to win over Senator Mills regardless of the vote counts. She takes her concerns to the company president, who brushes her off. Come election day, amazingly enough, Dobbs wins every state where he is on the ballot, making him the President-Elect. Green heads for Washington to explain to Dobbs that he did not actually win a majority of the votes, Delacroy operatives try to prevent her from killing their company by revealing the glitch, and the excitement begins.

While the film is not really a comedy, it has plenty of lighter moments when Williams cuts loose, which helps to keep the film moving and from feeling too heavy. It is a pretty obvious commentary on current American politics, from Dobbs' attacks on candidates who are bought and paid for by special interests to voting machines that provide no paper trail for verification (Delacroy is an obvious stand-in for Diebold), but Levinson has done a pretty good job of avoiding major hot-button issues (unlike claims about Diebold, Delacroy's errors are strictly accidental). Williams is pitch-perfect as host/candidate Dobbs, with his trademark quick-witted comedy well-suited to the character. Laura Linney is solid as Green, providing a good counterpoint to Williams' antics and grounding the more serious issues raised by the film. Christopher Walken is excellent as always, this time playing Jack Menken, Dobbs' agent, and Jeff Goldblum is good as the company lawyer for Delacroy who struggles to keep the company's secrets from ruining the company's standing (and stock prices).

If you're looking for the comedy advertised on TV, you'll find yourself disappointed by "Man of the Year." But if you want an entertaining political drama that makes some pretty good points without being heavy-handed, while still getting a share of laughs, "Man of the Year" is worth a look.