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Parents' Guide to

Man of the Year

By Jane Boursaw, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Lame political comedy misses the mark.

Movie PG-13 2006 115 minutes
Man of the Year Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 14+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Thislife
Thislife Adult
September 16, 2020
age 14+

Role models integrity

Finally a movie that shows somebody choosing integrity and doing what is right and speaking truth over power and corruption . Why does common sense not list this under positive role modeling?? Did you even watch it? This is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. Other positives are the main character believes a woman is telling the truth and listens to what she has to say despite several smear campaigns against her, instead of automatically dismissing her as “crazy “. Woman goes up against a powerful corrupt employer and figures out a technical glitch because of her own conscience. Great female and male lead roles. Williams worked his usual magic and also tried to make us think about the issues with politics and the system and how we can create more unity Instead of seeing the country divided by red and blue. God knows this country could really use that right now. I HIGHLY recommend this for teens and adults, not younger children due to inappropriate adult jokes and violence. There is no sex or nudity, but lots of talk about it through jokes. I have NO IDEA why the bad reviews?? Other than it wasn’t the comedy people expected. It was better than that and made you feel how it could be if we had no political parties, corruption and also how to deal with challenges of electronic voting. Great example of protecting democracy over personal interests. LOVED it.
Dr.Pepper
Dr.Pepper Adult
April 9, 2008
age 13+

...

There was lots of swearing and it wasn't very funny.
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In MAN OF THE YEAR, 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. Turns out that a computer glitch in the voting process 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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Man of the Year seems confused: 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. If Williams had been given the chance to do any real comedy, this could have been a really funny movie, but the plot spirals into a sub-par thriller. And a subplot involving a romance between Dobbs and Green doesn't work at all.

If the filmmakers were going to take the thriller route, why not throw a few issues into the mix -- war, terrorists, something! As it is, this is a milquetoast movie that doesn't play on any of its actors' strengths, including Linney, the formidable Christopher Walken, who plays Dobbs' chain-smoking manager, and irascible Daily Show regular Lewis Black, who plays his curmudgeonly head-writer.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Movie Details

  • In theaters: October 12, 2006
  • On DVD or streaming: February 20, 2007
  • Cast: Christopher Walken , Laura Linney , Robin Williams
  • Director: Barry Levinson
  • Inclusion Information: Female actors
  • Studio: Universal Pictures
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Run time: 115 minutes
  • MPAA rating: PG-13
  • MPAA explanation: language, including some crude sexual references, drug related material, and brief violence.
  • Last updated: October 18, 2023

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