3 Razors

• Title: Man of the Year
• IMDB: link

We’ve seen this done before, and done better.  Man of the Year doesn’t come close to Levinson’s direction of David Mamet’s wickedly humorous satire Wag the Dog and lacks the warmth of Dave.  It falls apart in the second act, seemingly written and directed by a studio exec’s retarded grandson, as the film losses all it’s momentum as the comedy is shelved for a thrill-less thriller.

Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a comedian with his own late-night political show, think Bill Maher or Jon Stewart amped up on caffeine.  An offhand remark by a audience member begins a series of unusual and unbelievable circumstances leading this funny man to become the President of the United States.

It has a perfect set-up.  As Dobbs runs just to stir the pot, which no one takes seriously, Elanor Green (Laura Linney), an employee of the Diebold-like maker of the new voting machines, discovers a slight flaw in the system.  When she presents her findings to the CEO she is told the problem is being worked on and will be corrected.

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• Title: School for Scoundrels
• IMDb: link

Roger (Jon Heder) is a loser.  By day he is abused by fellow workers and law breakers in his job as a meter-maid.  By night Roger pines for his neighbor, a sweet girl named Amanda (Jacinda Barrett) whose roommate (Sarah Silverman) is as sarcastic as Amanda is nice.

Unable to express his feelings to the woman he loves Roger decides to join a secret confidence building course run by the unscrupulous Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton).  There he meets other losers like himself (Todd Louiso, Horatio Sanz, Matt Walsh, Jon Glaser, Leonard Earl Howse) and for the first time begins to feel a part of something.

Roger’s success in the class has some dire consequences.  Dr. P decides to challenge Roger and make a move on Amanda, using every dirty trick imaginable.  Roger is forced to either tell the truth or beat his professor at his own game.

The film is full of gags and some increasingly brutal humor.  It doesn’t have the balls to go for the big laughs Thornton got in Bad Santa, but it is consistently funny throughout.

The supporting cast, stolen mostly from former SNL casts, does well.  Silverman plays her typical bitch on wheels and is a little too shrill for me here.  If she’s serious about giving acting a chance I’d like to see her branch out a little more.  There are two cameo roles that stand out, Ben Stiller and David Cross, who are so good you wonder why the script couldn’t fit them into the plot more.

It’s a fine comedy that won’t bore you.  It doesn’t have the huge belly laughs you would expect from this material, but it is consistantly funny throughout.  If guy humor, men getting shot in the crotch with paint guns, and losers trying pitifully to impress women sound like your thing, you should enjoy yourself.  It’s well worth the price of admission.