It's been a while since I've seen a movie that can really make me laugh out loud at the audacity of its characters. The movie that has done that most effectively is the documentary Rats in the Ranks and I think it will be a while before anyone tops that. There were, however, moments in Wag the Dog when I began to feel that way: amazed at the chutzpah of these characters and at what they were attempting.
Wag the Dog is the story of a US president who gets caught with his pants down, two weeks before re-election. To distract the voters from this, a fake war is staged with Albania. ("Why Albania?", "Why not Albania?") The war is fake in the sense that it is played out only in the media; there are no hostilities with Albania. ("I saw it on TV, so there must be a war.")
It some ways, Wag the Dog is brilliant while in others, it completely drops the ball. Let's look at its brilliance first.
The cast is superb. Mr. Hoffman as Stanley Motss is as good as Mr. Hoffman gets. I've not been very impressed with any of his performances of late but this one is stellar. He really is great in this role, laying it on thick as he goes from idea to idea, prancing around the countryside in his enormous stretch limousines, telling his outrageous stories ("This? This is nothing!"). Along side Mr. Hoffman, Mr. Leary recovers brilliantly from his pathetic performance in The MatchMaker to restore my faith in humanity, or at least in comedians. Similarly, Mr. Willie Nelson, and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, is great, although perhaps his role isn't too much of a stretch.
On the other side of the coin, we have the political people: Ms. Heche in a creditable performance and Mr. De Niro, ever the professional, a joy to watch. His handling of the FBI is worth the price of admission, leaving one with a mild feeling of confusion: just who is he trying to convince? ("They just didn't think it through.") All the minor characters, with one notable exception, are very good. That exception is Mr. Harrelson.
I must confess that it's hard to tell if the problem is Mr. Harrelson or the role. It is, perhaps, a funny twist to the movie, but a bit out of sorts with the rest of the feel of the film. Up until that point, the film is slick, political, cynical. Mr. Harrelson's entrance takes us to awkward, gauche, clumsy. Up till this point in the movie, the humour is directed at political machinations in general, the media, the gullibility of the public: all pretty fair targets. I'm not convinced, however, that rape is all that funny. Admittedly, we don't ever really know what happens but it's a section of the movie that leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.
The script contains some great lines and moves at a reasonable pace. I have read some reviews that suggest that the movie is a failure compared to the book on which it is based; that the movie loses all the bite and satire of the book. Having not read the book, I can't comment, although I'm now tempted to read the book.
On its own, Wag the Dog holds up quite well. It's probably not going to win an Oscar but that's through no fault of its own. The acting is great, the script lots of fun, the pacing pretty much spot on. Overall, one of the more enjoyable movies I've seen in quite a while.
Rating: D