IMDb > Wag the Dog (1997)
Wag the Dog
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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   33,864 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Larry Beinhart (book)
Hilary Henkin (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Wag the Dog on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 January 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
A Hollywood producer. A Washington spin-doctor. When they get together, they can make you believe anything. more
Plot:
Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to "fabricate" a war in order to cover-up a presidential sex scandal. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(37 articles)
Barry Levinson
 (From The Wrap. 10 November 2009, 5:30 PM, PST)

Halfway House: Oh Suzanne-ah
 (From FilmExperience. 3 November 2009, 9:00 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Fascinating and Interesting. more (188 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dustin Hoffman ... Stanley Motss

Robert De Niro ... Conrad Brean

Anne Heche ... Winifred Ames

Denis Leary ... Fad King

Willie Nelson ... Johnny Dean

Andrea Martin ... Liz Butsky

Kirsten Dunst ... Tracy Lime

William H. Macy ... CIA Agent Charles Young

John Michael Higgins ... John Levy

Suzie Plakson ... Grace

Woody Harrelson ... Sergeant William Schumann
Michael Belson ... President

Suzanne Cryer ... Amy Cain
Jason Cottle ... A.D.

David Koechner ... Director
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Bite the Bullet (USA) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for language.
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The political talk show at the end of the film lists its phone number as 1-(800)-555-0199. This number is also Lester Burnham's office number in the film American Beauty (1999) as well as Lowell Bergman's fax number in the film The Insider (1999) more
Goofs:
Miscellaneous: At the end of the film, when the Secret Service escorts Stanley to his car, one of the men repeatedly tries to open the car door, but it has been accidentally locked. more
Quotes:
Winifred Ames: So when we touch down tomorrow, Big Bird is going to meet Schumann at the airport, huh?
Stanley Motss: Big mistake, big mistake. You gotta bring them in by stages. Big mistake to reveal Schumann before the election.
Winifred Ames: How so?
Stanley Motss: Sweetheart, Schumann is the shark. Okay? Schumann is Jaws, you know? You have to tease them. You gotta tease them. You don't put Jaws in the first real of the movie. It's the contract, sweetheart. The contract of the election, whether they know it or not, is "Vote for me Tuesday, Wednesday I'll produce Schumann." See, that's what they're paying their seven bucks for.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Opération lune (2002) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
WAG THE DOG! more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
29 out of 31 people found the following comment useful.
Fascinating and Interesting., 3 July 2002
Author: tfrizzell from United States

Barry Levinson's under-rated "Wag the Dog" is a brilliant piece of satire which is to the 1990s what "All the President's Men" was to the 1970s. The president is in trouble after a sexual scandal with an under-aged girl. Enter Robert DeNiro and Anne Heche who want to distract the nation with something else as they try to get their boss out of the hot seat. The only problem is: nothing is going on. So it is up to them to create something to rally the country around the executive-in-chief. Now enter sleazy, but high class Hollywood director Dustin Hoffman (in a well-deserved Oscar-nominated turn) who is contacted to start an imaginary war. He agrees and the plan works, but as time goes by more and more problems occur and the lies continue to snow-ball. Levinson's excellent direction and Hilary Henkin's clever screenplay raise the performances of all involved. Naturally DeNiro and Hoffman are guaranteed to excel in a film like this, but good work is also done by people like Heche, Denis Leary, William H. Macy, Woody Harrelson and even Willie Nelson (!?). Somewhat ignored in 1997, but still one of the best films of that year and one of the more important films of the 1990s. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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They did this movie already in 1995 dreamerboi23
terrible movie (spoilers) sadhawan
Mark Knopfler's Soundtrack max23
Needs to be Top 250 jaysobe
Is Conrad Breen in the Devil? pstancer
Shuman = Jessica Lynch chris98383
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