WILLIAMS FOR PRESIDENT? PROBABLY NOT THIS YEAR.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic Google ``Jon Stewart Not to be confused with John Stewart or John Stuart. Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz on November 28,1962) is an American comedian, satirist, actor, writer, and producer. for President'' and you come back with more hits than if you made the same Web search replacing Stewart's name with John McCain For McCain's grandfather and father, see John S. McCain, Sr. and John S. McCain, Jr., respectively John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936 in Panama Canal Zone) is an American politician, war veteran, and currently the Republican Senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. . Barry Levinson's new movie, ``Man of the Year,'' plays into the fantasy of anyone whose car sports a ``Stewart/Colbert '08'' bumper sticker bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m , but it does so in a way that's surprisingly generic and toothless for a filmmaker with the prescient pre·scient adj. 1. Of or relating to prescience. 2. Possessing prescience. [French, from Old French, from Latin praesci ``Wag the Dog'' on its resume. ``Man of the Year'' is a strange hybrid, starting off as a political comedy, morphing into a thriller and mixing in some romance for good measure. Was this a decision writer-director Levinson made in the editing room when he realized that the humor wasn't working? Only Levinson knows, but the final product is neither funny nor thrilling, just a distracted mess. Even its populist politics ring hollow in an election year when voters probably would elect Stewart - just for something different - if given the opportunity. Williams plays Tom Dobbs, a Stewart-ish talk-show host who is persuaded by fans to run for president. Dobbs doesn't think he can win. He just wants to decry de·cry tr.v. de·cried, de·cry·ing, de·cries 1. To condemn openly. 2. To depreciate (currency, for example) by official proclamation or by rumor. the influence of special interests and rail against the negligible issues - flag burning, same-sex marriage Noun 1. same-sex marriage - two people of the same sex who live together as a family; "the legal status of same-sex marriages has been hotly debated" couple, twosome, duet, duo - a pair who associate with one another; "the engaged couple"; "an inseparable - politicians use to distract voters from the bigger picture. Dobbs initially wants to play it straight, but his advisers (played by Christopher Walken and Lewis Black, both doing their best to rise above the material) want him to be funny. Moviegoers want Williams to be funny, too, but his jokes and stiff stream-of-consciousness shtick shtick also schtick or shtik n. Slang 1. A characteristic attribute, talent, or trait that is helpful in securing recognition or attention: feel tired and dated -- like yesterday's news. After Dobbs gets elected, thanks to a glitch A temporary or random hardware malfunction. It is possible that a bug in a program may cause the hardware to appear as if it had a glitch in it and vice versa. At times it can be extremely difficult to determine whether a problem lies within the hardware or the software. See glitch attack. in the new electronic voting machines, the movie takes a left turn into conspiracy land, with Laura Linney playing a whistle-blower whis·tle·blow·er or whis·tle-blow·er or whistle blower n. One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is . . trying to dodge assassins hired by her evil corporate masters. Can Linney's do-gooder get to Dobbs? Does Dobbs want to hear the truth? Can Dobbs handle the truth? Every aspect of ``Man of the Year'' is so unconvincing that it renders the aforementioned questions irrelevant. The movie itself has nothing to say about an American political landscape that's almost barren of recognizable human behavior. For a film that wants to decry business as usual, ``Man of the Year'' seems awfully content to play by the rules. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com MAN OF THE YEAR - Two stars (PG-13: language, drug-related material, brief violence) Starring: Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Christopher Walken. Director: Barry Levinson. Running time: 1 hr. 48 min. Playing: In wide release. In a nutshell: Barry Levinson's political-comedy-thriller is neither funny nor suspenseful, just a mess. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Robin Williams, right, and Christopher Walken are an inadvertent presidential candidate and his adviser in the not-all-that-humorous political comedy ``Man of the Year.'' |
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