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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that teens will likely be interested in this movie thanks to relentless promotion and its connection to Daily Show host Jon Stewart. Unfortunately, it just isn't that funny -- it could have been an amusing political commentary, but it missed the mark. Also, there are crude jokes galore (remember, it stars Robin Williams) about diapers, farts, "inhaling," pictures of naked women, and sex ("I did not have sex with that woman ... I wanted to, but I didn't").
Families can talk about whether a comedian could really run for president and win. If so, who would be a good candidate? What makes someone qualified to be president? Is it OK to have a president who isn't exactly a model of morality? What specific people and issues is the movie spoofing? What issues should be brought up in a presidential candidacy? Where does your family stand on topical issues like abortion, hydrogen fuel, war, and legal marijuana?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Jane Boursaw
MAN OF THE YEAR is a comedy -- sort of -- about a comedian who gets elected president of the United States. That is, it starts out as a comedy, but somewhere along the way, it turns into a conspiracy thriller. Unfortunately, it really can't decide what it wants to be -- All the President's Men, Wag the Dog, or Bulworth.
Robin Williams stars as Tom Dobbs, a TV host a la The Daily Show's Jon Stewart who jokes about running for president. One day during the warm up before his show, an audience member challenges Dobbs to actually run -- next thing you know, he's a major candidate and then, unbelievably, president.
Could this actually happen? Probably not. That's why the writers threw in a storyline about a computer glitch in the voting process that results in Dobbs' win. An evil software company has sold the United States on a national voting system -- but just weeks before the election, computer analyst Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) discovers an anomaly that company legal counsel Alan Stewart (Jeff-Goldblum) will do just about anything to keep secret.
If Williams had been given the chance to do any real comedy, Man of the Year could have been a really funny movie. As it is, the plot spirals into a sub-par thriller about corporate corruption. Oh, and there's also a subplot involving a romance between Dobbs and Green, which just doesn't work at all (it's a shame that the wonderful Linney got sucked into doing this movie in the first place).
If the filmmakers were going to take the thriller route, why not throw a few issues into the mix -- war, terrorists, something! Even pulling a Bulworth and having Dobbs tell voters exactly what he thinks -- instead of being run by political spin-doctors -- would have been more interesting. As it is, this is a milquetoast movie that doesn't play on any of its actors' strengths, including the formidable Christopher Walken, who plays Dobbs' chain-smoking manager, and irascible Daily Show regular Lewis Black, who plays his curmudgeonly head-writer.
Families who enjoy political comedies are better off with Bulworth, Dave, or The American President.
Rate It!
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Sexual ContentRomance between two characters, kissing, implied sex, jokes about Monica Lewinsky, lesbians, foreplay, prostitutes, underwear, same-sex marriages, pictures of naked women. |
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ViolencePaint-ball scene in which the president is shot. A character refers to beating up a guy when he was a teenager. |
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Language"Damn," "f--k." |
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Social BehaviorA character tries to cover up his company's mistake. Characters are corrupt (politicians, corporate big-wigs). Lots of crude humor. |
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CommercialismPost-It Notes, Paintball, references to Enron, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Oprah, Saturday Night Live, NASCAR, Ikea. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoA character chain smokes. Social drinking at a dinner party. Jokes about "inhaling." |
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