“Man of the Year” (Universal Pictures)
Not A Comedy, A Dramady
If you have seen the trailer for the new Robin Williams’ film “Man of the Year” you expect it to be a pure comedy. Wrong! It is a mixture of drama and comedy – it’s a dramady! If you go into it expecting a collection of Robin Williams’ one liners, and comedy skits you are going to be disappointed.
The film concerns a television comic named Tom Dobbs (Williams). He specializes in political humor, a la John Stewart. One night he makes an off the cuff comment about how maybe he should run for President, and the next thing you know he is off and running. He attracts an audience because he is so irreverent about all sacred cows and other politically proper things.
When the election comes along, to everyone’s surprise Dobbs wins. Well everyone except Eleanor Green (Laura Linney). She is a computer expert who works for the company that makes the computerized balloting machines. She has tried to tell her boss there is a glitch in the program but he doesn’t want to hear it. Now Dobbs has gotten elected and she knows it isn’t valid.
The plot hinges on how she can get to Dobbs to tell him, and to what means will the computer company go to silence her. This is where the dramatic elements of the film enter, and they are pretty dramatic (shades of Martha Mitchell).
Director Barry Levinson does a good job of combining both elements of the plot. He knows when to let Williams go off on a tear, and he knows when to reign him in. He also gets able assistance from Linney who makes her character appear just a bit nutty and a whole lot nice.
Jeff Goldblum, Lewis Black and Christopher Walken add to the overall enjoyment of the film by offering strong support to the leads. Walken particularly is enjoyable as Williams’ manager. He doesn’t have that much to do in the movie but each time he is on screen he is fascinating.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and some mild violence.
Don’t let yourself be mislead into thinking this is a fun-filled, joke laden Robin Williams’ comedy. It is not. It is a movie with a serious plot and some comedy on the side. Robin Williams is getting a little older, and he looks it, but he is also getting better and better as an actor. He and Linney make a winning team in this enjoyable movie from Barry Levinson.
I scored “Man of the Year” and elected 6 out of 10.
