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Wag the Dog

R

Released Dec 25, 1997

1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

86%

78 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two weeks prior to reelection, the United States president lands in the middle of a sex scandal. In need of outside help to quell the situation, presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) enlists the expertise of spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), who decides a distraction is the best course of action. Brean approaches Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to help him fabricate a war in Albania -- and once underway, the duo has the media entirely focused on the war.

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Critics Consensus

Smart, well-acted, and uncomfortably prescient political satire from director Barry Levinson and and all-star cast.

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AB L

Don't get me wrong, there are some perfectly executed cynical moments here (The patriotic songs, the fact that no one disputes the fake war but merely create a separate false narrative, etc.) but the movie still feels lacking. Even at the time this was made Presidents didn't need to create a fake war as a distraction, they simply bombed real people.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/31/23

Full Review

Jelisije J

A movie about so many subject mattes that if you break down into reality its actually a horror movie than a political comedy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/05/23

Full Review

stephen b

Watching it now the movie dates itself for a while as none of this could happen in the social media era. Then, it takes turns that are so absurd in any era and makes it fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/16/23

Full Review

Michael W

This peculiar comedy was pretty good. Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson, Kirsten Dunst, William H. Macy, John Michael Higgins, and the rest of the cast did a pretty good job in this movie. The plot of the movie was kind of entertaining, a little dramatic, and odd. It's about a group of people that fabricate a war in order to shift focus on a sex scandal that involves the President. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you might like it. I kind of liked it, but not as much as I'd hoped to. It all depends on what you think of it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Featuring stellar performances from Hoffman, De Niro, and Heche, while also fully utilizing its thought-provoking and intelligently written story, "Wag the Dog" stands as a timeless classic and a film that, as time goes on, can really only be more and more appreciated. An absolute triumph and an instant must-watch!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/25/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I'd say this is easily one of the best political comedies ever made.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

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Barry Levinson

Director

Dustin Hoffman

Stanley Motss

Robert De Niro

Conrad Brean

Anne Heche

Winifred Ames

Woody Harrelson

Sgt. William Schumann

Denis Leary

Fad King

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Jason Bailey

Vice

If anything, in the years since its release, the worlds of politics, entertainment, and news media have grown even more intertwined in which narratives are carefully controlled and expectations are minimal.

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Hilary Henkin and David Mamet's script is gleefully hyperbolic without ever straying from its political target.

Mar 30, 2009

Full Review

Time Out

Lazily assembled by director Levinson, it slides into a series of soft, extended skits on engineering a media war, not helped by several badly handled leaps in the story.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

The idea sags near the end, but for some time, it is right on.

Rated: B+

Jan 19, 2023

Full Review

Wesley Lovell

Cinema Sight

...I’ll simply let the movie explain itself and recommend it highly for anyone interested in satirical filmmaking.

Rated: 4/4

Jan 7, 2023

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...a vitriolic comedy/satire that venomously assesses the lack of morality in the modern media and politics...

Rated: 4/5

Jun 9, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Two weeks prior to reelection, the United States president lands in the middle of a sex scandal. In need of outside help to quell the situation, presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) enlists the expertise of spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), who decides a distraction is the best course of action. Brean approaches Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to help him fabricate a war in Albania -- and once underway, the duo has the media entirely focused on the war.

Director: Barry Levinson
Executive Producer: Michael De Luca, Claire Rudnick Polstein, Ezra Swerdlow
Screenwriter: Larry Beinhart, Hilary Henkin, David Mamet
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Production Co: Punch Productions, New Line Cinema, Baltimore Pictures, Tribeca Productions
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.0M
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Stereo, SDDS, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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