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Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Denis Leary, Willie Nelson, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, Woody Harrelson, Merle Haggard, James Belushi,
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Wag The Dog |
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When a sex scandal threatens the re-election campaign of the U.S. president, his advisor Conrad Breen (De Niro) brings in a top Hollywood producer (Hoffman) to manufacture a war that will distract the voters. Strictly for TV, they create a conflict in Albania, complete with a young actress (Dunst) playing an Albanian peasant girl fleeing the bombs. As the fiction grows, so do their problems, particularly with a drunken "war hero" (Harrelson) with unsavory habits and a prison record. Screenwritten by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet based on the Larry Beinhart novel _American Hero_, the story is both unnervingly plausible and funny (filmed in 1997, it eerily anticipated the Clinton scandals to follow: the film's sex scandal involves a campfire girl who wears a black beret, and Clinton threatened Iraq when domestic developments got too hot for him!), but none of the characters is particularly likable, and the tale smugly goes over the top toward the end. Soundtrack by Mark Knopfler, with supporting appearances by Anne Heche, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Denis Leary, and Willam H. Macy.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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A sex scandal breaks about a president up for re-election, and a hot-shot Hollywood producer is brought in to create something that would take the public's mind away from it. He and the president's spin doctor create a fictional war in Albania on television. As everything they do is countered by the president's challenger and other forces, they get deeper and deeper into their own fiction. Scathing indictment of the political system. Willie Nelson has an amusing supporting role as a songwriter.
--Zorikh Lequidre, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Wag The Dog |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Polit/Social/Race/Gender activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- fighting government corruption
Kind of comedy
- political satire
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- politician
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- producer/director
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- obsessed
Hair color?
- another color
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
- irritated
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair style
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- a deadline
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Midwest
- California
Desert?
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- Washington D.C.
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- theater
- bar
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- all mixed up
- full of laughter
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
Any profanity?
- Some foul language
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of singing
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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