Just before Election Day, the President of the United States faces allegations of sexual promiscuity. A media manipulator, named Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), is brought in to divert the public attention away from the scandal for 11 days until the President can be re-elected and everything can return to normal. To assist him, Brean enlists the help of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to create the illusion of an impending war between the United States and Albania.
Sounds like a probable situation, no? Considering the headlines of today, this movie might as well be a documentary about what goes on behind the scenes in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, the movie isn’t as dry as a political documentary could be. Unfortunately, the movie misses the mark more often than not. The script doesn’t seem to know where it wants to lead the characters or why.
The key elements are all in place for a hilarious send-up of the media and politicians as featured on the media. The cast is strong and the material just begs for this kind of treatment. Somewhere, something got lost. The performances are strong, but without much motivation. Frequently, the only thing that connects one scene to another is a few words whispered into a cellular phone and all is taken care of. There’s no set-up to make the delivery worth receiving. The final reaction to everything is a pretty blasé, “So what?”
As the credits rolled, I simply breathed a deeply disappointed sigh. So much potential and so little of it used. Although the film does make some valid points about the media’s advertising campaigns disguised as news stories and the public’s acceptance of anything seen on television, it doesn’t deliver much else. The script by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin does provide some snappy dialogue, but that doesn’t make a film complete. We never learn anything about the characters or whether or not they have any problems with the fact that media can be so easily swayed. No one seems to question anything that is said by anyone involved. Brean and Motts simply wave their hands and all is fine. The only opposition comes from the president himself and his problem involves the color of the cat a girl carries in a manufactured news story.
As the situation involving the “war” between Albania and the U.S. hits a few snags, Stanley Motss keeps repeating, “This is nothing! A minor setback is all.” After awhile, I started to believe he was commenting on the film itself.
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
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