“Man of the Year” is a primitive glimpse into political problems that plague our nation. The ironic plot combines drama, action, and romance in a neat little package.
Robin Williams plays a comedian who accidentally wins the presidency due to a faulty electronic voting system. His character, Tom Dobbs, raises pointed political questions without offering any solutions and runs on the platform that he is not for sale to heavy handed interest groups.
The dramatic element is presented in a series of moral dilemmas that face each character, which create a conflict when the information is shared and knowledge of the glitch becomes the next character’s problem. Much of the plot is predictable in the sense that everyone expects the lawyer to be vindictive and the television show executives to want to make money.
The action sequence is well placed, in the middle of the movie, because it revitalizes the plot and transforms the dialogue and acting into more than long improvised witty commentaries.
The overall tone of the humor is dry and smart without assuming that the viewer has any previous knowledge of the subject. Most of the political jokes are well explained without being over explained.
I would recommend this movie to either politically minded individuals who will be amused or to viewers who would like to begin to understand general political problems such as the moderate epidemic and oil company candidates.
A love story develops throughout the course of the movie between Williams and Laura Linney who plays Eleanor Green.
Green, an employee of the company that made the voting program, discovers the glitch in the computer system and goes on the run for her life until the culprits are arrested while maintaining flirtations with the President Elect.
Dobbs becomes her savior and friend and eventually. Other members of the cast include Christopher Walken, Jeff Goldblum, and Lewis Black.