Wag the Dog

Wag the Dog

A comedy about truth, justice and other special effects.

R 1997 · 97 min · ★ 6.9 (1K) · Comedy, Drama

During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.

Directed by Barry Levinson · Written by Hilary Henkin

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV StoreGoogle Play MoviesYouTubeFandango At Home

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 44m together

Wag the Dog

Donnie Brasco

Both from Barry Levinson.

More from Barry LevinsonSee all →

The JuryThe Jury · 2004
The Jury
★ 9.02004
SeriesDrama
Set in New York City, the series brings the viewer into the jury room to watch the deliberators try to answer the many questions posed during a trial. As facts are exposed through flashbacks of testimony and crime footage, viewers will form their own opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Following each verdict, a final flashback will let viewers see the crime as it actually happened and reveal whether or not the jury made the right decision.
Homicide: Life on the StreetHomicide: Life on the Street · 1993
Homicide: Life on the Street
★ 8.11993
SeriesMysteryDrama
An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.
OzOz · 1997
Oz
★ 8.01997
SeriesCrimeDrama
The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorize their mutual enemies.
DopesickDopesick · 2021
Dopesick
★ 8.02021
SeriesCrimeDrama
The story of how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. Look into the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of "one percenter" Big Pharma Manhattan.
The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show · 1992
The Larry Sanders Show
★ 7.81992
SeriesComedy
Comic Garry Shandling draws upon his own talk show experiences to create the character of Larry Sanders, a paranoid, insecure host of a late night talk show. Larry, along with his obsequious TV sidekick Hank Kingsley and his fiercely protective producer Artie, allows Garry Shandling and his talented writers to look behind the scenes and to show us a convincing slice of behind the camera life.
Rain ManRain Man · 1988
Rain Man
★ 7.71988
MovieDrama
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.
A Little PrincessA Little Princess · 1995
A Little Princess
★ 7.61995
MovieDramaFamily
When her father enlists to fight for the British in WWI, young Sara Crewe goes to New York to attend the same boarding school her late mother attended. She soon clashes with the severe headmistress, Miss Minchin, who attempts to stifle Sara's creativity and sense of self-worth.
SleepersSleepers · 1996
Sleepers
★ 7.61996
MovieCrimeDrama
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco · 1997
Donnie Brasco
★ 7.51997
MovieCrimeDrama
An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.
30 for 3030 for 30 · 2009
30 for 30
★ 7.52009
SeriesDocumentary
30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN
City on a HillCity on a Hill · 2019
City on a Hill
★ 7.32019
SeriesCrimeDrama
In early 90s Boston, an African-American District Attorney comes in from Brooklyn advocating change and forms an unlikely alliance with a corrupt yet venerated FBI veteran invested in maintaining the status quo. Together they take on a family of armored car robbers from Charlestown in a case that grows to encompass and eventually upend Boston’s city-wide criminal justice system.
Good Morning, VietnamGood Morning, Vietnam · 1987
Good Morning, Vietnam
★ 7.31987
MovieComedyDrama
A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.
Quiz ShowQuiz Show · 1994
Quiz Show
★ 7.21994
MovieHistoryDrama
Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.
TootsieTootsie · 1982
Tootsie
★ 7.21982
MovieComedyRomance
When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego—Dorothy Michaels—in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.
BorgiaBorgia · 2011
Borgia
★ 7.22011
SeriesAction & AdventureDrama
The name Borgia stands for betrayal, intrigue and corruption in the Vatican, which was the center of the world during the Renaissance.
Shades of BlueShades of Blue · 2016
Shades of Blue
★ 7.22016
SeriesDramaCrime
Sexy New York detective and single mother Harlee Santos fell in with a tight-knit group of dirty cops, taking bribes and protection money that she uses to provide the best life for her honest, talented daughter. But when she's trapped by the FBI and forced to inform on her own "brothers," she'll have to walk the fine line between love, loyalty, honor and betrayal, and try to keep it together for her daughter's future.

More Like This

The Man Who Knew Too LittleThe Man Who Knew Too Little · 1997
The Man Who Knew Too Little
★ 6.41997
MovieComedyCrime
An American gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.
Murder at 1600Murder at 1600 · 1997
Murder at 1600
★ 6.11997
MovieActionDrama
A secretary is found dead in a White House bathroom during an international crisis, and Detective Harlan Regis is in charge of the investigation. Despite resistance from the Secret Service, Regis partners with agent Nina Chance. As political tensions rise, they learn that the crime could be part of an elaborate cover-up. Framed as traitors, the pair, plus Regis' partner, break into the White House in order to expose the true culprit.
SoldierSoldier · 1998
Soldier
★ 6.41998
MovieScience FictionAction
Sergeant Todd is a veteran soldier for an elite group of the armed forces. After being defeated by a new breed of genetically engineered soldiers, he is dumped on a waste planet and left for dead. He soon interacts with a group of crash survivors who lead out a peaceful existence. The peace is broken as the new soldiers land on the planet to eliminate the colony, which Sergeant Todd must defend.
The NamelessThe Nameless · 1999
The Nameless
★ 5.71999
MovieThrillerMystery
The mutilated body of a six year old girl is found in a water hole. The girl is identified as the missing daughter of Claudia. However, only two peices of evidence could be used to identify her; a bracelet with her name on it near the crime scene, and the fact that her right leg was three inches longer than her left. All other methods of identification were removed from her body. Five years later Claudia, now addicted to tranquilizers, receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter, asking for her mother to come find her before 'they' kill her. Other mysterious clues show up, further indicating that Claudia's daughter is indeed still alive, and very much in danger. Claudia, a run-down ex-cop, and a parapsychology reporter put together the clues to discover Angela's whereabouts
Primary ColorsPrimary Colors · 1998
Primary Colors
★ 6.21998
MovieDramaComedy
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
ElectionElection · 1999
Election
★ 6.91999
MovieComedyDrama
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
BulworthBulworth · 1998
Bulworth
★ 6.31998
MovieComedyDrama
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Heartbreak RidgeHeartbreak Ridge · 1986
Heartbreak Ridge
★ 6.91986
MovieWarDrama
A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of ArcThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc · 1999
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
★ 6.41999
MovieAdventureDrama
In 1429, a French teenager stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. As she reclaims God's diminished kingdom, this courageous young woman has various amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.
Saints and SoldiersSaints and Soldiers · 2003
Saints and Soldiers
★ 6.32003
MovieWarDrama
Five American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separated from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.
Casualties of WarCasualties of War · 1989
Casualties of War
★ 7.21989
MovieDramaHistory
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
The FreshmanThe Freshman · 1990
The Freshman
★ 6.31990
MovieComedyCrime
After a film student gets his belongings stolen, he meets a mobster bearing a startling resemblance to a certain cinematic godfather. Soon, he finds himself caught up in a caper involving endangered species and fine dining.
The Russia HouseThe Russia House · 1990
The Russia House
★ 6.11990
MovieDramaThriller
Barley Scott Blair, a Lisbon-based editor of Russian literature who unexpectedly begins working for British intelligence, is commissioned to investigate the purposes of Dante, a dissident scientist trapped in the decaying Soviet Union that is crumbling under the new open-minded policies.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter