Cast carries lightweight ‘Man of the Year’
by David  Germain
Associated Press

We’ve seen plenty of  “Jon Stewart for president” bumper stickers in New York, and it would be fun to see a straight‑talking, scathingly satiric guy like him on the campaign trail against the usual suspects.

Barry Levinson’s  “Man of the Year” aims for that scenario, though, funny as he is at times, Robin Williams in the commentator‑turned‑candidate role is a lightweight, almost as empty a suit as the career politicians he’s up against.

With a premise too absurd for belief, “Man of the Year” becomes a campaign of character, relying mainly on its cast to see it through.

Luckily for writer‑director Levinson, Williams and co‑stars Laura Linney, Christopher Walken and Lewis Black deliver well enough to keep the movie in the race, making viewers care about these people more than the story merits.

The actor and filmmaker behind “Good Morning, Vietnam” reunite for the story of Tom Dobbs, a political commentator who seems less about substance and more about manic standup jabber.

Williams’ Tom Dobbs is the comic host of a political talk show that supposedly tells it like a sick‑and‑tired electorate wants to hear it. We’re led to understand that Tom’s an insightful wit whose assaults on Washington’s power brokers have made him so beloved his TV audience wildly cheers at his innocent comment about running for president himself.

Tom talks a lot but doesn’t say much. We essentially see Williams doing his schtick, prattling in such a bluster that the mildly amusing material sounds funnier than it is, with some generic politically rabble‑rousing tidbits thrown in to establish him as a voice of dissent, a title the character doesn’t deserve.

Even so, Tom shakes up the establishment by jumping in as an independent alternative. Though Tom polls like a respectable third‑party candidate, it’s all meant as a lark and a reminder to the real politicos that their job is to serve the American people.

Then the impossible happens. Under a new computerized voting system, Tom wins the election. As his sickly manager (Walken), head writer (Black) and other minions prepare for the transition to ultimate power, an employee of the company that developed the voting system, Eleanor Green (Linney), turns up claiming a software glitch mistakenly handed the election to Tom.

It’s left to Tom to reveal the possible mistake or keep his mouth shut and take the job.

Levinson’s plot just crumbles. His far‑better political satire “Wag the Dog,” with its outrageously manufactured TV war to distract the electorate, was credible stuff by comparison.

What keeps “Man of the Year” alive is the homey interplay of its principals. Tom’s talk‑show staff comes off like a fun family of kooks. Walken’s a grand old man as the entertainment manager who becomes an unlikely kingmaker.

Black, toned down from his standup act, is surprisingly even‑keeled as Tom’s wise and wisecracking writer. Jeff Goldblum is thrown in to little effect as the dastardly corporate attorney.

“Man of the Year,” a Universal release, is rated PG‑13 for language including some crude sexual references, drug related material and brief violence. Running time: 115 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.