“War is showbusiness.”
-Conrad Brean
‘Wag the Dog’ is a 1997 political satire examining a clandestine operation by the US Govt to stage a war in Albania, as a misdirect to distract from the sitting President’s romantic advances on an underage girl while in the Oval Office. Hello hath no fury like ensuing public outrage.
It turns out the 24 hour news cycle is a myth; this scandalous, scandalized affair… no, this “political scandalization” (that’s better) is of such epic proportions — that it just won’t go away! Hyper realized and a bit ludicrous, director/producer Barry Levinson’s unique knack for comedy often incorporates meta-commentary on the entertainment industry skewering those movers-and-shakers that navigate the inner workings of showbusiness, and this film takes a similar tact, delivering many an acerbic quip and gibe at real-world political maneuverings, the ludicrosity of it all, and how Hollywood may (or may not) lend a hand to US candidates during election season. The main inspiration for ‘Wag the Dog’, ostensibly speaking, is the Clinton-Lawinsky Scandal (1995 – 1997) in which a sitting US President – Bill Clinton – underwent a squall of negative media for his affair with a much younger White House intern, the then twenty-one-year-old Monica Lawinsky.[1] Although, conversely — the film was released one month prior to the Lawinsky-gate story breaking, but comparisons have been made between the plot of ‘Wag the Dog’ and the Clinton administration’s decision to bomb an Al-shifa factory in Bahri, Sudan shortly after the news of Clinton’s presidential scandal broke in August of 1998.[2]
The motion picture’s pacing is enjoyably jaunty, the temporal alacrity fitting well with a story that serves up an extra helping of sardonicism mixed with satire in an ultimately humorous recipe. Presentation wise, topical commentary is favoured over a narrative with strong connective tissue. Although it is absent any truly absurd elements, ‘Wag the Dog’ is less of a structured story, and really more of a cavalcade of diatribes, quick-paced retorts, observational comedy, and improvisation.
The film’s structure in the first half feels like it’s composed of short vignettes formed around introducing well-known Hollywood A-listers. Cameo after cameo, bit part after bit part — at times it becomes more of a “who’s who” of famous faces – rather than a tale about greed and capitalism run amok. However, this is not a critique unique to Barry Levinson’s ‘Wag the Dog’ as copious other films fail miserably when constructed this way. Barry Levinson on the other hand has a seemingly infallible ability to bring a certain amount of order from out of the chaos. Even though the film is a wee bit disconnected at times – the overall impact of the thematic statement doesn’t suffer too much, plus the picture is still hilarious, poignantly clever, witty to no end – and one of my personal favourites to return to time and time again.
Below is a nearly comprehensive list of the Cast – and Cameos in ‘Wag the Dog’
Starring
Dustin Hoffman as Stanley Motss (a movie mogul recruited to help with celebrity networking)
Robert De Niro as Conrad Brean (“The Fixer” a spin-doctor who specializes in politics)
Anne Heche as Winifred Ames (head of PR for POTUS, top-presidential aide)
Main Cast
William H. Macy as CIA Agent Charles Young
Willie Nelson as Johnny Dean (a country music artist)
Denis Leary as “Fad King” (a writer)
Andrea Martin as Liz Butsky
Kirsten Dunst as Tracy Lime
Woody Harrelson as Sergeant William Schumann
John Michael Higgins as John Levy
Suzie Plakson as Grace
Craig T. Nelson as Senator Neal
Jim Belushi as himself
George Gaynes as Senator Cole
Sean Masterson as Bob Richardson
Suzanne Cryer as Amy Cain
Cameos/Bit Parts
James Belushi as himself
Shirley Prestia as herself
Roebuck “Pops” Staples as himself
Merle Haggard as himself
Christine Devine as news anchor
Harland Williams as pet wrangler
John Cho as Aide #3
Jay Leno as himself
“The tail wags the dog” is an idiom which means the thing with less importance is being used to veil the real issue(s).
Rating 7.5/10
Sources:
[1]From an Anonymous Tip to an Impeachment: A Timeline of Key Moments in the Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
By Olivia B. Waxman and Merrill Fabry
May 4, 2018 12:00 PM EDT
https://time.com/5120561/bill-clinton-monica-lewinsky-timeline
[2] “Wag the Dog Back In Spotlight”. CNN. August 20, 1998.
Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2013
https://web.archive.org/web/20120915020805/http://articles.cnn.com/1998-08-21/politics/wag.the.dog_1_people-from-terrorist-activities-dogs-military-strikes?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS
