Wag the Dog

A comedy about truth, justice and other special effects

WAG THE DOG (15)

D: Barry Levinson

New Line/Tribeca/Baltimore/Punch (Jane Rosenthal, Robert DeNiro & Barry Levinson)

US 1997

97 mins

Comedy

W: Hilary Henkin & David Mamet [based on the novel "American Hero" by Larry Beinhart]

DP: Robert Richardson

Ed: Stu Linder

Mus: Mark Knopfler

Dustin Hoffman (Stanley Motss), Robert DeNiro (Conrad Brean), Anne Heche (Winifred Ames), Woody Harrelson, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Andrea Martin, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy

With a presidential election looming, a White House spin doctor enlists the help of a Hollywood director to fabricate a war and deflect attention away from a sexual scandal involving the president.

This intelligent satire on politics never delves deep enough to lose its audience but instead captivating them with a scene-stealing performance from Dustin a Hoffman and a genius screenplay from David Mamet and Hilary Henken, which any other year would have won an Oscar (it lost out to L.A. Confidential).

A must watch for conspiracy theorists.

8/10