Product Description: On a lark the host of a late-night political talk show decides to run for president. The thing is he never expected to win. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/27/2007 Starring: Robin Williams Laura Linney Run time: 105 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com: A comedy with serious intentions, Man of the Year attempts to challenge the audience's notions of what is and isn't real when it comes to politics. Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a popular political talk show host. As a lark, he runs for president and wins. The thing is, he's not any more unqualified than the other candidates, so his victory doesn't seem quite so outrageous. But when it turns out that the computer ballot firm responsible for tallying all the votes may have had a glitch--and that a recount would negate his win--mayhem ensues and the film segues from comedy, to drama, and back to comedy (sort of) again. Directed by Barry Levinson (Diner, Wag the Dog), the film doesn't take advantage of Williams' natural humor or charm. He at times appears to be chomping at the bit to unleash a comedic tirade or two, only to be held back by stiff lines. Williams only truly appears to be enjoying himself when trading lines with Laura Linney, who portrays the hapless do-gooder at the ballot firm who's being set up to appear unreliable. With some fine performances by a supporting cast that includes Jeff Goldblum, Lewis Black, and the inimitable Christopher Walken, Man of the Year occasionally hints at greatness. But at best, it's a lukewarm comedy with a diluted message. --Jae-Ha Kim
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - entertaining and thought-provoking
Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a political comedian. Think Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. Christopher Walken plays his manager. One night on his show, someone asks him why he doesn't run for President, ... Read More
Rating: - Needed a programmer on writing staff
The BASIC premise of this movie was interesting, and the story is mildly entertaining, but any high school student with programming experience could tell you that the reason behind the computer glitch is ... Read More
Rating: - As a comedy it falls short, but it surprisingly works well as a dramatic thriller...
`Man of the Year' is essentially two different films, one is a comedy about a comedian who is surprisingly elected as our next U.S. President; the other is a drama about a woman who stumbles across a glitch ... Read More
Rating: - Intelligent Comedy
Man of the Year
With Happy Madison pulling a ton of random movies that generally have the same characters in them, it's nice to have a comedy movie that isn't a bunch of slapstick humor. Robin Williams ... Read More
Rating: - An politiacly correct review
I loved this movie for once Hollywood dared to show how is the real political system.
Your rich you can be president your poor forget it. To show a comedian running for presidency is good. This ... Read More
- entertaining and thought-provoking
- Needed a programmer on writing staff
- As a comedy it falls short, but it surprisingly works well as a dramatic thriller...
- An politiacly correct review