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Man of the Year

PG-13 Released Oct 13, 2006 1h 55m Comedy List
22% Tomatometer 146 Reviews 45% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), the satirical host of a political talk show, decides to shake things up by running for president after making comments that he would be a better president than the leader who currently occupies the White House. His fans begin a grassroots campaign that catapults him into the Oval Office, but soon after moving in it is revealed a computer glitch mistakenly awarded him the presidency. Tom is left with a tough choice, stay the course or head back behind the microphone.
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Man of the Year

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Critics Consensus

Weakened by second-half attempts at thriller and romance, this presidential comedy also fails to hit any sharp political notes, resulting in a confused and unsatisfying mess.

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Critics Reviews

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Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Too compromised to be more than a reasonably pleasurable entertainment, as if it is scared about what it is saying about the American political process. Rated: 2/5 Nov 2, 2007 Full Review Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) This being Robin Williams, it's hard to find his routines as vote-winningly hilarious as they're meant to be. Nov 2, 2007 Full Review Karl French Financial Times There are good moments, although it doesn't work properly either as a satirical thriller or a rom-com. Nov 2, 2007 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Man of the Year had the potential to be one of the all-time comedy masterpieces had it not shifted tones during the film's second hour. Rated: 3.5/5 Sep 23, 2024 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site Barry Levinson's Man of the Year is a negligible and insipid film. If one takes a storyline "from the headlines," one should do it with some depth or not bother at all. Feb 14, 2021 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins A mess of incongruous ideas that even Williams can't redeem or effectively rib. Rated: 4/10 Nov 21, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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SkyRo P "Man of the Year" starring Robin Williams is a comedy film about a talk show host who decides to run for president, highlighting how the political spectrum isn't always strictly left or right. Williams shines in his role, blending comedy with a touch of political savvy that showcases his acting prowess throughout the movie. He skillfully portrays the complexities of a politician, all while adding his trademark humor to the mix. The film is paced well, smoothly navigating through the engaging storyline that touches on election fraud and potential tampering. "Man of the Year" delivers a strong message about the need to break free from the constraints of traditional political divides and think outside the box. With its clever plot and Williams' stellar performance, this movie is a must-watch that I highly recommend to everyone. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/24 Full Review KerryWhite's S Rating: 6/10. 68/100 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/04/24 Full Review Donald A Yes, "Man of the Year" won't even come close to nailing down any awards (positive ones, anyway). Nor will it stand the test of time against Robin Williams' and Barry Levinson's best work. But in the moment of the film, Williams' jokes made me laugh. Quite a bit, in fact. Yes, it would greatly benefit from an entirely focused effort to ditch one of the additional two genres thrown in with the comedy: a thriller and a romance. Yet, I think the film should not be entirely ignored. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/08/24 Full Review Andrea S Not a masterpiece, but still a great movie. Robin Williams is such a gem. For me, the biggest problem was that the action drama aspect ruined the overall atmosphere of political satire. However, the movie carries important messages that are still relevant, almost 20 years later now. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/16/23 Full Review Tyler B Hands down one of the worst comedian vanity projects ever made. This movie had all of the potential in the world.. it had Williams in the prime of his later career. Chris Walken's in it. Lewis Black at his peak was in it, and Jeff Goldblum as well. What could go wrong? Well.. a lot. Firstly this movie ultimately had struggles with what the tone was gonna be. The first half is what everyone wanted: Williams being a troll mocking the political scene and raising hell in a chaotic fun way. The debate is one of the best moments of Williams at his manic peak, and the montage that followed with Bohemian Like You was genius. However it causes the movie to peak within it's first 45 minutes and it never recovers. Then it becomes a bi-polar drama movie that constantly switches between sad, dark moments mixed with comedy attempts. It doesn't work at all. Then add to it the director's forced in political commentary/lecturing. This was 6 years after the 2000 Florida fiasco and Hollywood was still salty as hell about it. Barry Levininson's usually fantastic but he went overboard too hard here and it shows. It makes him look out of touchy, whiny, and bitter and downright paranoid even. The whole political conspiracy crap the movie gets into is just goofy and it didn't need to be forced in. Laura Linney's a great actress and all but her character is SO annoying. They try to make her sympathetic but she's so far from it it's ridiculous. She invites all the bad that happens to her and she's flat out creepy stalking Williams's character. Yuck. This movie woulda worked so much better if it focused on the campaign itself and how Dobbs is a constant troll. That's what it was advertised for it and what the post suggests. The entire voting conspiracy never needed to be added to the movie, if Dobbs wins at the end it should be due to fate, not someone else doing it. This coulda been one of Williams's best later career movies if Levinson had gotten out of his way and allowed it to be. He didn't, and we got this stinker instead. So sad. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/22/23 Full Review Martha W This movie couldn't figure out what kind of movie it wanted to be. Comedy? Drama? What? I don't know. Laura Linny did not give a good performance. She was hyper and an all around bad actress. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Accepted 38% 72% Accepted You, Me and Dupree 20% 50% You, Me and Dupree TRAILER for You, Me and Dupree Sydney White 35% 70% Sydney White I'll Be There 50% 57% I'll Be There EDtv 63% 30% EDtv Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams), the satirical host of a political talk show, decides to shake things up by running for president after making comments that he would be a better president than the leader who currently occupies the White House. His fans begin a grassroots campaign that catapults him into the Oval Office, but soon after moving in it is revealed a computer glitch mistakenly awarded him the presidency. Tom is left with a tough choice, stay the course or head back behind the microphone.
Director
Barry Levinson
Producer
Barry Levinson, Robert N. Fried, James G. Robinson
Screenwriter
Barry Levinson
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Morgan Creek Productions
Rating
PG-13 (Drug Related Material|Brief Violence|Language|Some Crude Sexual References)
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 13, 2006, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.4M
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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