With the November elections around the corner, “Man of the Year,” opening today tries to bring a little comedy to politics. The movie delivers a few jokes toward the current and previous presidential administrations, but is mislabeled as a comedy.
As the host of a political comedy show, Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) has no problem making fun of politicians and their way of dealing with issues. “Politicians are a lot like diapers. They should be changed frequently, and for the same reason,” he said.
During a pre-show question and answer session an audience member saidDobbs should run for president. Then, as Jack Menken (Christopher Walken), Dobbs’ manager, would say, “one thing leads to another” and Dobbs the comedian turns into Dobbs the politician.
With “No Jokes” as Dobbs’ campaign slogan, he hits the streets of the United States and tries to rally support the old fashion way – one boring speech at a time.
When invited to the presidential debates, Dobbs cannot contain himself. He bluntly expresses the issues on the public’s mind on national television in a joke-filled manner.
On election day, a computer voting error wins Dobbs the presidency and brings Eleanor Green (Laura Linney) into Dobbs’ life.
Dobbs is informed of the error and has to make a choice: Stay in the White House or confess the mistake to the American people for a re-vote.
The “Man of the Year” trailer suggests the movie is full of laugh-till-you-cry jokes, but it is deceiving. The movie attempts to be funny with sexual punch lines and unexpected cameos, but falls short.
Green’s discovery of the error adds drama, which brings more suspense than humor to the film. Laura Linney gives a great performance, but the drama is misplaced in this supposed comedy.
Robin Williams’ performance in the movie is reminiscent of his Broadway special with sexual, blunt jokes. He fits the comedian-turns-politician role well and he gives a good performance, but with staggered humorous scenes, the laughs are too few and far between.
Even with Lewis Black from “The Daily Show” as Eddie Langston, Dobbs’ co-worker and friend, the movie is more drama than comedy.
Barry Levinson is the director and writer of “Man of the Year.” He is not new to directing comedies or Robin Williams. He directed “Good Morning, Vietnam” (starring Robin Williams), “Wag the Dog” (another election day based movie) and “Rain Man,” just to name a few.
As an Emmy-winning writer in a comedy-variety or music series for “The Carol Burnett Show,” Levinson should have a handle on comedy, but “Man of the Year” does not hold true.
The action/drama sub-plot takes over, leaving the comedic scenes behind.
As a political comedy, “Man of the Year” offers a few light laughs and raises questions about politicians and the future of the election process, but does not live up to its laugh-out-loud promise.
