Steineded How sad is this?

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Mr Black I saw this movie on DVD after buying with absolutely no knowledge of the film at all. I only bought it because Robin Williams was the star. I wasn't disappointed at all. This is a great satire on modern politics. Robin Williams character seems to say what everyone thinks - that modern politicians are in the back pocket of special interest groups. There are a couple of plot holes here - like how a computer system is fooled by such a very simple loophole - but that just serves as a way to move the story along. Williams is excellent here as both a comedian and a serious actor. I have always thought he is equally good at both and such a great talent. His character is very believable. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes a movie with some thought put into it.

goaltenderinterference This movie was believable neither as a political satire, nor a political thriller. Some of Robin Williams' dialogue, which he possibly wrote himself, is funny; but like an overly-long SNL sketch, it had nowhere to go after the first few minutes because of the flimsy plot(s) and boring characters.The first premise of this movie is that Robin Williams is a comedian running for president. The only reason he gives for running is that an audience member suggested it, and that he doesn't like either of the main political parties; we are never given the impression that he cares about the outcome of the election. When the main character has basically nothing at stake, why do we as the audience care if he succeeds or fails? Worse still, the story breezes through every obstacle that makes it difficult in real life for an independent to run for president: the getting-on-the-ballot process is explained away in a one-sentence narration; his unrealistic inclusion in the candidates' debates is glossed over; and he attracts substantial support without any campaign spending because...? The movie then completely changes premises to become a "thriller". We find out that Robin Williams' election victory was due to a computer voting system glitch that misread the candidates' names. When whistleblowing voting system employee discovers the glitch, all of the stereotypical thriller devices come out to play: the evil multinational conglomerate cover-up (apparently computer companies have henchmen on retainer), the betrayal by the trusted confidant, the hideout discovery, the parking lot altercation, the car chase, etc., etc. Of course, the whole thing falls flat because I'm pretty sure that computer voting systems have more rigorous checks for coding errors than my grade 9 introduction-to-programming class.I guess the two parts of the movie are supposed to gel when the whistleblower is able to get to Robin Williams -- and only Robin Williams -- and tell him about the glitch. So he has to decide on whether to be the good guy and tell the world, or be the bad guy and be sworn in as president. That *might* have saved this movie if they had actually shown Williams struggling with this issue, but instead it is completely deflected: (1) because the evil multinational has apparently done such a good cover-up, his struggle becomes over whether to believe the whistleblower or not (and we get no explanation as to why he ends up believing her); (2) he doesn't really care about power, as he uses his president-elect status for jokes and publicity stunts. So it comes back to: why would we care if the main character doesn't?

blanche-2 Robin Williams is "Man of the Year" in this 2006 film also starring Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, and Jeff Goldblum. Williams plays comedian Tom Dobbs, a Jon Stewart type who decides to run for President. He gives great speeches, filled with humor, and ruins a televised debate against the incumbent, but wins a standing ovation. He wins.Laura Linney plays Eleanor Green, who works for the company that developed the new, state of the art voting system, and she realizes that there was a problem with it, and that Dobbs did not win the election. Her superiors absolutely don't want it to come out. Posing as someone from the FBI, she is able to approach the President-elect but gets caught up in his humor and his friendly entourage and doesn't tell him. Meanwhile, the company has gotten rid of her and is taking any steps it can to discredit her.I knew nothing of this film going in, so I didn't know that it was incorrectly marketed. I found the film an easy mix of hilarious comedy, mostly Williams' routines, and some true drama. This is never easy to do, and often, a film like this doesn't know what it wants to be. That's not the case with "Man of the Year," and I think Levinson's approach is successful. Mostly this is because Robin Williams can do anything - he's a riot, he's warm, he can do real drama, and here he does a wonderful job. Laura Linney gives a terrific performance as a woman who finds herself in terrible trouble as she tries to right a wrong.Very good movie with a good cast.

Jackson Booth-Millard I saw one of the posters for this film, where the leading star is dressed like George Washington, so the concept was going to be obvious, and one that I was willing to try, from director Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam; Rain Man). Basically Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is the host of a satirical comedy politics talk show, and someone jokes in the show that with his quick wit he could run for President of the United States in the up and coming election. He thinks to himself that he could actually do it, and he becomes the independent candidate, and he almost deliberately shows himself up as a questionable candidate, and he makes for good viewing. So it comes to the day of the election, there are small but doubtful to happen hopes that Tom does actually win the election, against Democratic Incumbent President Kellogg (David Nichols) and Republican U.S. Senator Mills (David Ferry), but to everyone's surprise, he does win. He and everyone around him, including his sick manager Jack Menken (Christopher Walken) and Eddie Langston (Lewis Black), are pleased with the result and happy to see him shake up politics as the new President elect. His luck may be about to change though, because Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), who was removed from her job at Delacroy, the private company with rising stocks that created the new computer system for votes to be cast, has discovered a glitch. The voting computer made the mistake of believing the votes for Dobbs counted on the fact that the other two candidates have double letters in their names too, i.e. Kellogg = two Ls and two Gs, Mills = two Ls. After going temporarily mad, being drugged by men sent by her slimy boss Stewart (Jeff Goldblum), she struggles to get this information out, but she does eventually reach Dobbs and explains the glitch. Even being told that she took drugs and stuff, Dobbs is pretty sure that Eleanor is telling the truth that he is not the true elected President, and the conspiracy is becoming more hyped with Eleanor trying to be killed to shut her up. In the end, Tom steps down as President, explaining the glitch to the world, but his actions work for the better, the right man is made President (not great, but good), Stewart is arrested for hiding the information, and Tom goes back to hosting his now higher rated show with Eleanor working beside him. Also starring David Alpay as Danny, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Williams makes for good viewing with his comedic stand up skills coming into play as he rises to the high rank, and Linney is effective as the pressured and at risk programmer. I myself liked the turn from comedy to conspiracy thriller when it happens, the idea of a comedian becoming President is very good, it blatantly picks on the fact that actor Ronald Reagan did it, it could have covered more ground, but it is a likable film. Okay!