Wag the Dog
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
Critics Sentiment
Brean contacts Stanley Motss to create fictional war in Albania
Team's plane crashes and they are rescued by illegal alien farmer
The film peaks with the brilliant De Niro-Hoffman chemistry establishing the Albanian war hoax, then steadily declines through contrived middle complications before partially recovering with its cynical ending.
Wag the Dog starts as a brilliant satirical premise with exceptional performances from De Niro and Hoffman, earning widespread critical praise for its sharp political commentary and prescient media manipulation themes. However, multiple reviewers note the film loses steam after its opening act, becoming bogged down in mechanical plot complications that dilute its satirical bite. The ending partially redeems the film with appropriate cynicism, but critics consistently identify missed potential in a movie that had all the right elements but couldn't sustain its initial brilliance.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 101
Dustin Hoffman
Stanley Motss
Robert De Niro
Conrad Brean
Anne Heche
Winifred Ames
Woody Harrelson
Sergeant William Schumann
Denis Leary
Fad King
Willie Nelson
Johnny Dean
Andrea Martin
Liz Butsky
Kirsten Dunst
Tracy Lime
William H. Macy
CIA Agent Charles Young
David Koechner
Director
Michael Belson
President
Suzanne Cryer
Amy Cain
John Michael Higgins
John Levy
Suzie Plakson
Grace
Jason Cottle
A.D.
Harland Williams
Pet Wrangler
Sean Masterson
Bob Richardson
Bernard Hocke
Technician
Jenna Byrne
Sharon
Maurice Woods
Kid with Shoes
Crew
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