It’s no secret that the majority of people in my demographic would rather spend hour between 11 p.m. and midnight getting their world news from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than listening to the talking heads on local network news. We are so enamored with our television pundits, in fact, that we create petitions to have them run for head office - “Stewart/Colbert ‘08!” or “Sorkin for President!” - as empty threats against the governmental status quo. In Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year, late-night comedian Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) takes the suggestion seriously and winds up slated as the next man to fill the Oval Office. Like many of the politicians, though, the movie promises great things in its campaign (in this case, the marketing) but fails to deliver on them once the public decides to give its support.

Instead of the smart political comedy that the trailer and television spots promise, Man of the Year is a somewhat lighthearted thriller. Dobbs is elected, it turns out, because of a flaw in the programming of the new, nationwide computerized voting system. One person, Eleanor Green (Laura Linney), figures out the error and aims to blow the whistle on the company that produces the voting machines by tracking down and alerting Dobbs. Thrown into the mix when they meet is a third kind of heat: a love story between the president elect and the woman looking to end his presidency before it begins.

The resultant film is a confused mess, never deciding for itself whether to pay more attention to Williams’ manic side, which he shows pretty well when given the opportunity, or the melodramatic plot driven by Linney and Jeff Goldblum’s slimy corporate lawyer. Left in the rubble are Christopher Walken and Lewis Black, playing two advisors to Dobbs’ entertainment career. Black looks particularly perturbed to be in this situation, as some of his standup material is used almost verbatim in the movie. Walken mails in his performance, wagering successfully on the fact that his cadence alone can be funnier than anything else in the film. Of course, this year he’s already cashed in on being the best thing in a lame movie.

Painfully unfunny at times and plain uninteresting at others, Man of the Year is a failed attempt to comment on the cross-section of media and politics. It’s not inconceivable that, one day, a Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert might wind up in the White House. I just hope that they have stronger convictions than Dobbs and that their campaign is more coherent than this film.

Rating: * * of 5

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