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Wag the Dog (1997)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
9 January 1998 (USA) moreTagline:
A Hollywood producer. A Washington spin-doctor. When they get together, they can make you believe anything. morePlot:
Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(36 articles)
Halfway House: Oh Suzanne-ah (From FilmExperience. 3 November 2009, 9:00 AM, PST)
Movie Stars Featured In Levinson Documentary
(From Studio Briefing - Film News. 2 November 2009, 1:32 PM, PST)
User Comments:
This is not nothing more (188 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Dustin Hoffman | ... | Stanley Motss | |
| Robert De Niro | ... | Conrad Brean | |
| Anne Heche | ... | Winifred Ames | |
| Denis Leary | ... | Fad King | |
| Willie Nelson | ... | Johnny Dean | |
| Andrea Martin | ... | Liz Butsky | |
| Kirsten Dunst | ... | Tracy Lime | |
| William H. Macy | ... | CIA Agent Charles Young | |
| John Michael Higgins | ... | John Levy | |
| Suzie Plakson | ... | Grace | |
| Woody Harrelson | ... | Sergeant William Schumann | |
| Michael Belson | ... | President | |
| Suzanne Cryer | ... | Amy Cain | |
| Jason Cottle | ... | A.D. | |
| David Koechner | ... | Director |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
97 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Denmark:11 | Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M | Brazil:18Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the funeral scene, soldiers in the military band are played by members of the Riverside Community College marching band. moreGoofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: While they are recording the song for the Albanian War, there is a shot of Stanley through the glass of the studio. The reflections of the singers do not match the words or rhythm of the song. moreQuotes:
Stanley Motss: I'm in show business, why come to me?Conrad 'Connie' Brean: War is show business, that's why we're here.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Academy of Robots' Choice Awards Special (1998) (TV) moreSoundtrack:
THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GIRLS moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (188 total)
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I saw this before the brouhaha with Clinton and Lewinsky broke, and I imagine most of the negative comments about this film came because they saw it after and thought this was a Nostradamus film. When I saw it, I thought it started a bit slow, and was a bit too self-satisfied (like the scenes of people crying at a concert; that seemed fake). However, for most of the way, this is sharp, biting, and yes, funny, though when I first saw it, I thought it was more accurate in its Hollywood satire than on its government satire. Time, of course, proved me wrong.
David Mamet will never be universally loved, because not only does there seem to be a large group that doesn't get him, but that thinks those of us that like him are degenerates. Myself, I happen to think he's one of the best playwrights and screenwriters working today (though I'm split so far on his novels). His writing may be highly stylized, but I guess I'm in tune to the rhythms of his dialogue. And he doesn't assume his audience is dumb; rather, he seeks to challenge them by asking you to come to your own conclusions, rather than hit you over the head. And he does that very well in this movie; at the beginning, we may think Conrad Brean and Stanley Motss are real sleazebags, but at the end, while we deplore the action they take of faking a war just for political ends, we can't quite dismiss them either.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with the performances of Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman (Anne Heche is also a standout as Winnifred Ames, the increasingly bemused presidential aide). DeNiro seems at first like a teddy bear here, with his beard, his hat, and his bow tie, but he transfers the energy associated with his more volatile roles (TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, GOODFELLAS et al) to guile and street smarts here. The way his eyes probe whoever he's talking to, and the way he anticipates almost every verbal comeback the other person has demonstrates that(he can't anticipate every event, of course, but once he gets used to it, he can).
But the standout here is Hoffman. There's been a lot of comment on Hoffman basing his character on Robert Evans. My own theory is he read Lynda Obst's excellent book HELLO, HE LIED, which talks about the producer's role, and simply played that. I formed that theory because of his mantra whenever things go wrong, "This is nothing!", especially when Winnifred reads him the riot act after their plane crashes. There's a part in the book where Obst talks about having to argue budget with the studio, and realizes it's all a game where they have roles to play; she argues for more money, the studio for less. Just as Winnifred's role is to be pessimistic, and Stanley's is to be optimistic. And Hoffman never condescends to Stanley, instead showing a talented, maybe amoral guy who deep down is so insecure that he values credit even over his life("F*** my life, I want the credit!" is one of the best lines of the film"). Contrary to his line, this film is not nothing.