Synopsis
The irreverent host of a political satire talk show decides to run for president and expose corruption in Washington. His stunt goes further than he expects when he actually wins the election, but a software engineer suspects that a computer glitch is responsible for his surprising victory.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Robin WilliamsTom Dobbs
- Christopher WalkenJack Menken
- Laura LinneyEleanor Green
- Lewis BlackEddie Langston
- Jeff GoldblumStewart
- David AlpayDanny
- Faith DanielsModerator
- Tina FeyTina Fey
- Amy PoehlerAmy Poehler
- Doug MurrayMathias
Recommendations
- 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Levinson diverts his film into a political thriller with its own conspiracy theory, an improbable romance and a curious subplot that feels like an anti-smoking ad. Little wonder his bewildered star, Robin Williams, looks confused much of the time. - 50
Variety
A curious hybrid -- a political/action/comedy/thriller in which Robin Williams becomes president of the United States. A movie as uneven as it sounds, "Man" is less laugh-out-loud funny than topical and suspenseful. - 50
Miami Herald
It's the damndest thing, watching this light but genial movie self-destruct. It's as if writer-director Barry Levinson set out to sabotage his own film by gradually turning what should have been a minor subplot into the story's main subject. - 50
Philadelphia Inquirer
The actors, individually fine although they appear to be in different films, tread warily on each other's turf, like Martian and Venusian making adjustments for an alien gravitational field. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
Williams turns out to be exactly the wrong candidate for the job, a comedian singularly uninterested in letting anyone else get a word in, but with nothing to say. - 40
The New York Times
It swerves from thriller to romantic comedy to farce without much conviction, though you can occasionally salvage a glimmer of amusing possibility. Mr. Williams scores with a few throwaway jokes. - 38
Charlotte Observer
Writer-director Barry Levinson leaned on Robin Williams the way a one-ring circus relies on its lone acrobat. So they're jointly responsible for the film's utter failure. - 33
The A.V. Club
If there's anything sadder than a satire without teeth, it's a thriller without thrills. Even sadder is the rare movie that fails at both genres simultaneously. That, and that alone, makes Man Of The Year exceptional.
