Ladies and gentleman, Man of the Year! A hilarious romp! A comedy that tackles politics head-on! A showcase for comic Robin Williams! A..."Hitchcock-esque thriller"? Wait a second here...
The trailer shows guffaws and heartfelt idealism, but just like a politician, the makers of Man of the Year have pulled a bait-and-switch.
Yes, Robin Williams plays Tom Dobbs, a Jon Stewart-esque comedian who runs for president and, shockingly, wins. But Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), an employee at a company that created the faulty voting system, blows the whistle with frightening consequences.
Entire chunks of the film go by with zero belly laughs; instead, spooks trail the paranoid Eleanor, and Tom barely swings by the White House.
Instead of a highly relevant political satire, writer-director Barry Levinson takes the easy way out and churns a paint-by-numbers tale of corporate malfeasance. Guess he had no special interests in creating a smart, savvy comedy.