Review

What do you do when a sitting president on the verge of re-election finds himself rocked by a sex scandal? While State expeditions to foreign countries are always good diversions, nothing beats a war. And if there isn't enough time to fan a flare-up into a conflagration, you can just manufacture one. Who has the technology? Hollywood, of course. De Niro drolly underplays the spin doctor, a man with seemingly unlimited authority, who orchestrates the action while monitoring the pulse of public opinion. He signs on a frenetic film producer (a terrific Hoffman), who takes on the job with unbridled enthusiasm. The press, ever hungry for the next headline, laps up the product of their movie-making magic. The scenes depicting the manufacture of film at 11 will have you taping newscasts to replay them at slow speed, looking for glitches and evidence of blue screen. Forget the Constitution and forget the truth. Also forget the end credits, as the producer discovers to his dismay. Director Levinson's execution of the wickedly funny and insightful script (cowritten by David Mamet) is flawless and unswerving. Wag the Dog is unflinching as it delivers frightening truths that can be addressed only in fiction in our brave new world at the end of the millennium.