Man of the Year (2006)

Robin Williams stars in the “Man of the Year,” which is a movie about a man who on a whim runs for President of the United States as an independent candidate. We may be facing such a situation this year where a Mayor Michael Bloomberg or a Congressman Ron Paul or some other independent candidate might make a run for the presidency.

Robin Williams' character, Tom Dobbs, is able to get on the ballot of 13 states and receives enough votes to get elected, only to find out there was a glitch in the programming of the new Congress-mandated electronic voting machines. Tom Dobbs is also a comedian, who his own political TV talk show. Isn’t it ironic that most of the candidates running for office this year are themselves jokes and bad actors? A comedian running as a politician is a very good analogy, indeed.

LESSONS LEARNED

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With this year being an important election, there are a few lessons that we could learn from this movie.

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The movie brings up the distinct possibility that under the right circumstances an independent presidential candidate might just be able to win an election with only a relatively few key states. Also, if the federal government keeps interfering in the election process and dictating mandates to the states, such a bizarre occurrence as dramatized in the movie could also happen.

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The federal government, especially Congress, should keep its grubby, power grabbing hands off of the election process, which is a matter for the states and local entities to handle. After all the federal government seems to always have a reverse Midas touch, everything they touch gets screwed up! That is why I am so leery of their involvement (meddling) in education, welfare, health care or other non-federal areas of responsibility. The move should be toward less government, not more!

Moreover, we must be very careful in going to paperless ballots. Make the voter accountable for insuring that he or she cast his or her vote properly. Let there be a paper trail or stick with the punch card ballots instead of the paperless electronic ballots which have no paper trail. All that sore-loser Algore did in crying over and contesting the 2000 election results was to inspire Congress to take foolish, interfering and unnecessary action in dictating that we should move away from the punch card ballots, which served us well for years. The liberal whining and tantrums ruined an otherwise effective system. States that converted to electronic and touch screens are now converting back. What a foolish waste of resources.

The movie also does a good job of showing corporate greed and deceit. It shows the struggles of one whistle blower. It also illustrates some positive character qualities or virtues of the lead characters.

RATING

I would give this movie a rating of *** out of *****. It was an interesting movie a comedy, drama with suspense. However, I would not purchase this movie. I borrowed the movie from a public library. The movie uses some vulgar humor, which is not really necessary.

Additionally, as an Amazon review noted, “the film doesn't take advantage of (Robin) Williams' natural humor or charm. He at times appears to be chomping at the bit to unleash a comedic tirade or two, only to be held back by stiff lines.” “Man of the Year” is a good movie for any political junkie or fan of Robin Williams. I recommend it with reservations. It is not suitable for young children (under 13) or immature teens.