Cinecast Mailbag (8/11)

As a new dad, I've especially enjoyed your new "Overlooked DVD" segment. Getting to the theater has become much more difficult for me, so I've missed most of the movies you've been discussing....This might not be a film that is overlooked, but one of my favorites is "Wag The Dog," starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro....It's a great modern fairy tale about cynicism, the truth about our own attention spans in a media-soaked culture, and in a weird way, duty. If the rumors are true that Barry Levinson agreed to do "Sphere" for the chance to make "Wag The Dog," certainly movie fans owe it to him to see "Dog" for making that kind of sacrifice....It doesn't hurt that it's one of the funnier films in years. --Robb Neumann

Thanks, Robb. And thanks to everyone who has sent Overlooked and Best of 2005 (So Far) recommendations recently. Because of all of you, my Netflix queue currently features nearly 300 titles, including the two right at the top of the queue, "The Upside of Anger" and "Oldboy" (on DVD here in the States Aug. 23).

I chose Robb's e-mail because... well... I completely agree with him. "Wag the Dog" has been totally overlooked. I saw it when it was still in theaters back in '97... maybe six months or so before then President Clinton fired a couple rockets at Afghanistan when the first reports of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky started to leak. It was an uncanny parallel to the film, which tells the satirical tale of White House staffers enlisting a Hollywood producer to create a televised war in an effort to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. But the movie isn't just prescient; it's smart and funny (the script was co-written by David Mamet) and features great performances from De Niro and Hoffman (and, in supporting roles, Woody Harrelson, Anne Heche and Willy Nelson). "Wag The Dog" isn't perfect by any means, but I remember being impressed and surprised with the energy and sense of fun which Barry Levinson made the movie. (Apparently it was shot in less than 30 days for a budget under $15 million. And because everything is relative, we're just going to have to accept that $15 million isn't a lot of money.) I loved this movie when I saw it in the theater and always meant to check it out again. Thanks to Robb's e-mail, I'm adding it to the queue. You should to.

Also, for more "Overlooked DVD" recommendations from listeners, check out the Cinecast message boards.

Sam