Directed by Barry Levinson Running Time: 1:35

---

Now this was a good movie. I would highly, highly recommend seeing it. Wag the Dog takes place 11 days before the presidential election. The President is accused of sexually assaulting a young girl, in the Oval Office. So a spin doctor of sorts (Robert DeNiro) is brought in to try and make sure the President doesn't lose to election. Along with his sidekick (Anne Heche), he hires a movie producer (Dustin Hoffman) to make a war. Not to go to war, but to have the appearance of a war, which as we all know, always benefits the President in the polls. So they set out to make a war, against the terrorist nation of... Albania. They call in actors and special effects people to make a short movie clip of a young girl (Kirsten Dunst) trying to escape war torn Albania. They have a hero (Woody Harrelson) caught behind enemy lines. They have a theme song (sung by Willie Nelson), merchandising, everything associated with a big war, there's just no war. This is political satire at its best. Hoffman's character has an answer for every problem that occurs, and DeNiro and Heche can make even the strangest ideas come to life. The script has to be the best one I've heard in a long time. And that's saying something, considering the last movie I saw based on a David Mamet script (The Edge) I thought was one of the worst movies I had ever seen. The acting, as you can expect from the A-list actors involved, is spectacular. If you're looking for a really well acted, though provoking, funny movie, I'd go out and see Wag the Dog. Then when you get home, and turn on the evening news, think about what you're seeing. Is it real, or is it fantasy? 

---