The Chippewa Herald

While cynicism about the political process is certainly not a new phenomenon in the United States, there has no doubt been an obvious uptick in the intensity of that cynicism in recent years. In his new film, “Man of the Year,” director Barry Levinson examines the elements of our current cultural/political climate.

During a taping of his show, comedian Tom Dobbs (a Bill Maher, Jon Stewart-type played by Robin Williams) is encouraged by an audience member to run for President. After initially dismissing the idea, Dobbs reconsiders and manages to get on the ballot in 13 states.

In what seems like a grassroots response to the freshness of his candidacy, he wins all 13 and garners enough electoral votes to win. But Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), recently dismissed from her job with the manufacturer of the voting system, soon reveals to Dobbs that his election was not a groundswell of new patriotism, but a pesky computer glitch ignored by the greedy capitalists for which she once worked.

In much the same way “The Guardian” overturned my preshow skepticism and pleasantly surprised me, “Man of the Year” systematically dismantled the enthusiasm for it that I carried into the theater and left me more cynical.

The great irony of “Man of the Year” is that it is guilty of the same pecadillos it sets out to criticize in politicians. With slick, sound-bite laden trailers and TV ads, its media campaign seemed to promise political satire and comedy on a par with “Wag the Dog” or “Bullworth.”

Instead, those who vote for it with their ticket money are treated to a crash course in bait-and-switch marketing tactics.

“Man of the Year” isn’t a comedy. It’s not even about politics. And while it’s obviously not difficult for me to list what this movie is NOT, even Levinson himself would have difficulty articulating what it actually IS.

What it seems to be is a hodge-podge of both the fluffy and the self-important, the romantic and the cynical, all attempting to conceal its true identity long enough to give it two good weekends at the box office.

Part of the confusion is Robin Williams’ performance. Ads profess it is one of the funniest performances he’s given in years. Surprisingly enough, it is. But the comedic elements of his performance don’t really contribute to the story.

Instead, it is Williams playing Dobbs doing material he’s obviously written himself. It is in these moments, when Williams seems to reach back, plug himself with quarters and let loose with the rat-a-tat-tat of his hyperkinetic twistedness that there is a brief reprieve from the lameness of the plot. But if the best parts of this movie are Williams doing Williams’ stand-up, then I would rather have seen a concert film.

There are talented actors here, but the casting is abysmal. Christopher Walken, as Dobbs’ manager, is horribly out of place. Linney is disappointing simply because I’ve always believed she had better judgement in selecting projects.

And while it’s nice to see Jeff Goldblum in any movie, the role he plays could have been handled by a no-name without affecting it in the least. And comedian Lewis Black being given his first serious role, is more bait-and-switch rather than some attempt to escape pigeonholing.

In the end, the feeling I got watching this movie was very much like the feeling one gets when, after enthusiastically pulling the lever for a candidate, you soon realize you’ve been had and need to suffer through four years waiting for your chance to correct the error.

However, since “Man of the Year” is a 115 minute marathon, it also kind of feels like someone told the guy he could stay in office another year.

‘Man of the Year’

Grade: C-

Rated: PG-13