Hola all. Massawyrm here.

Wow, is this not the film they’re selling. Watching the trailer to Man of the Year one gets the distinct impression that this is a feel good comedy, a warm, comfy blanket of a political satire for those who love the standup of Robin Williams. You know, something along the lines of Ivan Reitman’s Dave. But that ain’t what this is. No this is something different. Very different. And while that’s not to say that this isn’t a good movie, it isn’t what people are going to see. And that’s going to lead to an awful lot of disappointed people.

Why? Well the film is very different in tone. While all those jokes you saw in the trailer are actually there, the tone of each of those scenes is so radically different than how they’re presented. The film has this nervous feeling to it, a heavy mood of impending doom that washes over the jokes and softens their blow. But it works in its own little way. Because this isn’t a film about what would happen if a Comedian won the Presidency. This is a film about what happens when a man wins the Presidency by accident.

You see, what the trailer isn’t telling you is, well, the actual plot of the film. While I’m usually against spoilers of any kind, Man of the Year actually explains the plot of the film with a Christopher Walken introduction in the very first minute of the film. The credits roll and BAM! Christopher Walken is explaining the plot. And it’s something that makes you cock your head and mutter What the fuck? Because, as it turns out, the film is about what happens when a good man gets elected…because of voting machine errors.

Now, Barry Levinson is no stranger to political satire. In 1987 he used Robin Williams the very best anyone’s ever used him in Good Morning, Vietnam - a film about the horrors of that war told through the eyes of a military radio personality. Then, 10 years later, he put out one of the most referenced, and possibly important films of the 90’s, Wag the Dog. While many argue over whether or not Wag the Dog is even a good movie (it has about as many haters as it does defenders) the subsequent Bill Clinton sex scandal which was followed by a full out assault on then little known terrorist Osama Bin Laden came on the heels of Wag the Dog being played as the in-flight movie on major flights nationwide. The result was a press blitz and countless Op-Eds written comparing and contrasting Clinton’s actions with those of the characters in the movie (who started an imaginary war to deflect a sex scandal before an election.) And the following cultural zeitgeist led to an era of a more cynical public and press when it comes to large political events that occur after some sort of scandal. I mean, if the President were to announce a major military action against North Korea today, how many Op-Eds would ask whether it was deflection from the growing Foley scandal? And I’ve got a stiff Fiver in my pocket that most of those would reference Wag the Dog in some form or another.

Well, Levinson is at it again, this time taking on, of all things Diebold – the infamous voting machine manufacturer that has been in the crosshairs of conspiracy theorists and political figures alike since voting irregularities popped up in the last election. Thinly disguised under another name, Levinson is careful to tell a story that isn’t about deliberate corruption, but rather a company trying to cover its ass after a computer glitch is discovered too close to the election to do anything about it…without sinking the company. And it is that concealment of truth and their attempts to cover it up that lead to the real nature of the film. When the company destroys the life and credibility of the person who discovered the flaw (Laura Linney), can the new President-Elect (Robin Williams) trust or even believe her when she tries to tell him that he’s not really the President? And even if he does, what do you do if the best man for the job, the man you really want to see as President, won by accident?

And that right there is actually what this film is about. It’s a film entirely about moral fiber and what makes a good man a good man. And it’s good. Really good. A terrific morality play exposing our faith in a system that we maybe shouldn’t trust so blindly. The film has some great moments of humor and an incredible cast that all turn in solid performances. Buuuuuut…that’s not the movie people are paying to see. And that’s gonna be a real problem for a lot of people.

We’re living in a time when satisfaction with the Government in power is at what seems to be an all time low. Whether your boys are in power or not, no one is really happy. Congress is a joke. The President can’t get his supporters agenda through, and what he has gotten through hasn’t worked out the way it was hoped. And most Americans believe this country is headed in the wrong direction. And Man of the Year looks like a ray of hope – a shining light of a comedy that will warm the heart and allow us, if only for two hours, to laugh about the misfortune that is current American politics. But it’s not. In fact, it’s heavy and something of a downer.

The humor isn’t as sharp, biting or over the top as Wag the Dog, nor does Williams get to really cut loose like he does in Good Morning, Vietnam. Which exposes the real problem with the comedy in the film. Set in an alternate political universe (like most political comedies), the humor and jokes are entirely about the generalities of politics, not the specifics. And we’ve heard most of it before. Without really being able to shake it up joking about modern political figures (as we’re accustomed to on shows like the Colbert Report, The Daily Show and even Jay Leno) the material falls short of being truly inspired. Hell, there’s even a joke in the film that one of Texas’s own gubernatorial candidates, Kinky Friedman, made as a public statement over a year ago (“I don’t see why gay couples can’t be as miserable as the rest of us.”) And he wasn’t even the first person to ever say it. In fact, the film’s most biting and funny moments are the few that actually do have fun with real political or cultural figures (like Pope Benedict, Kofi Annan and the single best Angelina Jolie joke ever told.)

And I feel the film really kind of fell short in the casting of Lewis Black as William’s chief comedy writer – who is never allowed to be Lewis Black. I mean you’ve got a guy like Black, who’s supposed to be a funny guy and is one of the few guys in the business who is adept at making humor out of political generalities, and then you don’t let him be really funny. Black does a great job doing what was written, but this had real potential. Here you have two of the greatest ranters in the business who haven’t died of Pancreatic cancer, and you put them in a room together, and we don’t get a single scene of them going off in tag team ranting? Come on. That could have been legendary. Just put them in a room for two hours, let the cameras roll, leave, and come back to edit together the single greatest bits. Is that so hard? But no. This film feels just a tad too restrained in that area, never really willing to let these comedians go where they need to.

But that’s not to say that it isn’t a funny film. It merely lives up to the potential it has. There are some really great moments. Williams cuts loose a few times and does a great job with those. Christopher Walken is at his Walken-y best. And for SNL fans, we’re treated to one last Weekend Update with Tina Fey and Amy Pohler.

All in all, it’s a good film that just isn’t what it’s being advertised as. And that’s not the fault of the film or Levinson, but of the studio’s marketing department who somehow feel that disappointing lots of people opening weekend is better financially than fewer happy people telling their friends to see it the following weekend. But it’s probably not the film the studio wishes they had on hand. They probably want a fuzzy political satire as much as the audience seems to want one. But Levinson doesn’t make fuzzy political satires. He makes insightful ones. And this is no different. If you understand what the film is going in, odds are you aren’t gonna be disappointed. But if even after this review you’re still pulling for Dave starring Robin Williams, you will be. Because that ain’t was this is.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.

Massawyrm

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