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Show THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Thursday, October 12, Z006 Say no to funnymen Robin Williams assaults audiences in 'Man of the Year' FRIDAY RED TOGA PARTY FRIDAY Aaron Allen The Daily Utah Chronicle The presidential candidate played by Robin Williams in "Man of the Year" doesn't actually win the presidency, but he comes frighteningly close. I say "frighteningly" because who in their right mind would want this man running our country? I know that's sort of the joke, but even from a satirical point of view, this movie is a colossal misfire, headlined by a wrongly cast Williams. He plays Tom Dobbs, host of a political comedy talk show very similar to Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show." But whereas Stewart is wry and collected and allows his punch-lines to insinuate their sharp edges, Williams is all about rapid-fire delivery—any political barbs he spits have no time to sink in before he busts out the cabana boy impression. There's a scene at a presidential debate in which Williams breaks the format and pretty much does nonstop stand-up, interrupting his opponents and coming off nearly as badly as one of those raving loons who hands out fliers that accuse our government of conspiring with Martians. In short, Tom Dobbs is very, very annoying. During that debate, as the commentator tried to shout him down, I kept wondering why the director up in the booth didn't just cut Dobbs' mike. It's not like he was making any sense—he says nothing revolutionary, nothing that a "Man of the Year" Universal Pictures Written and directed by Barry Levmson Starring; Robin Williams, Christopher Walken. Laura Linney. Lewis Black and JeffGoldblum Rated PG-1 3/120 minutes Opens Oct. I 3, 2006 Two out of four stars "It was a run by fruiting, I'm telling you." Robin Williams dumbfounds Laura Linney in "Man of the Year." dozen other political commentators haven't already said—only more clearly and pointedly. Dobbs sounds like the typical, disgruntled, fedup-with-the-system political critic. He's not special. I was embarrassed for Dobbs, and yet, the audience at the debate gives him a standing ovation. H'wuh? Maybe instead of Williams, Barry Levinson, the writer and director, should have cast Jon Stewart. In fact, Stewart's been swatting down rumors all week about his supposed interest in running for the Oval Office in 2008 with his dastardly, Comedy Central cohort, Stephen Colbert. Stewart would not make a good president, either, but I'd rather support him than Robin "Spas-OMatic" Williams. Of course, as I stated earlier, Williams' character doesn't even win the election. At least Levinson got that part right. The story's main focus is on an electronic voting system named Delacroy and how a glitch in its programming makes it appear that Tom Dobbs has won the election when, in fact, he came in third. I'm not spoiling any surprises here—the movie is oddly structured—for in the first io minutes we meet the programmer (Laura Linney) who discovers the glitch and is promptly smeared by her bosses, who wish to cover up the problem. This plot is unnecessary and uninteresting. I think Levinson realized he needed a sneaky way to get Dobbs to the White House because there's no way he would have gotten there legitimately. The resulting controversy that erupts when the fired programmer, Eleanor, confronts her employers and Dobbs is unwieldy and unconvincing—especially when romance enters the picture. "Man of the Year" is such a missed opportunity. Polls have shown that most youths get their news from the mouths of runnymen like Stewart, Colbert and (God forbid) Jay Leno. I have mixed feelings about that—on the one hand, humor is an effective way to get through to hip, young people who wouldn't give a damn about current events any other way. On the other hand, I get the feeling—based on the conversations I've overheard from my college classmates—that by stuffing important information into joke-sized packages, we understand the punchlines, but not the underlying issues. Comedy should be a bridge to more serious discussion—not an end to it. Levinson would rather let Williams fly off the handle than tackle any real issues at stake here. a.allen@chronicle.utah.edu 100$ Booty Battle Contest 100$ SOUR 1.1 HUSIHffCIVR 3 2 exchange place bo two on stato and main and 3rd and 4th south Private Club For Members 2 1 and up HAUHTED HOUSE SURVIVE THE Be the Lucky 13* You and 13 of your friends could win an overnight stay inside the Nightmare on 13th Haunted House on the night of Friday the t3th.< To enter, text message the word "Nightmare" to short code 59173% or enter on nightmareon13th.com Boise State University student artwork is on display in a gallery at the Gittins Gallery in the Art Building as part of a regional program encouraging schools to interact and gain understanding of one another's artistic views. MUSEUM DISPLAYS BSUART ship with regional art programs. It's a means of students gaining contacts and exhibition," Kirsten Furlong, gallery director of the Boise State continued from Page 4 University Visual Arts Center, expanded the exchange be in the exhibit. Instead, to include more media. there will be paintings, pho"We put the call out to all tographs, graphic design, the faculty in all the areas small metals, ceramics and and they responded," she prints—all by Boise State said. "It's certainly somestudents. thing that I think would be Slater said she was disap- interesting to do on an ongopointed that there won't be ing basis." any sculpture pieces in this Stout and Slater are planshow, but she said she is ex- ning to take U students' cited for future exchanges. work to showcase at Boise "You can't stamp your foot State some time next semesand get mad. You put up a ter. good show," she said. "We "It feels good to try this want to get a closer relation- out with another universi- Humanists of Utah invite you to hear Professor Jeffrey Nielsen speak about "Same Sex Marriage and the U.S. Constitution" Thursday October 12 , at the First Unitarian Church, 569 South 1300 East.The former BYU professor of philosophy will dialogue with the audience following his presentation. ty," Stout said. "We'll follow this up in a few months and take our students' work to Boise." The show opens today in the Gittins Gallery with a reception at 3 p.m. v.john$on@ chronicle.utah.edu • FVFIY ft t WEEKDAY 5J ATID ATID .OSAT iriF© LIHE 467-8100 www.NightmareOn 13 t h .com Learn more about the 2007 Summer Start program and complete ourFREE application by visiung law.udayton.edu 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-2760 • 337-229-3793 The program is free and begins at 7:30 pm. ft |