39
Metascore
30 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttLevinson diverts his film into a political thriller with its own conspiracy theory, an improbable romance and a curious subplot that feels like an anti-smoking ad. Little wonder his bewildered star, Robin Williams, looks confused much of the time.
- 50Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezIt's the damndest thing, watching this light but genial movie self-destruct. It's as if writer-director Barry Levinson set out to sabotage his own film by gradually turning what should have been a minor subplot into the story's main subject.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyPhiladelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyThe actors, individually fine although they appear to be in different films, tread warily on each other's turf, like Martian and Venusian making adjustments for an alien gravitational field.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumWilliams turns out to be exactly the wrong candidate for the job, a comedian singularly uninterested in letting anyone else get a word in, but with nothing to say.
- 40The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottIt swerves from thriller to romantic comedy to farce without much conviction, though you can occasionally salvage a glimmer of amusing possibility. Mr. Williams scores with a few throwaway jokes.
- 38Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanWriter-director Barry Levinson leaned on Robin Williams the way a one-ring circus relies on its lone acrobat. So they're jointly responsible for the film's utter failure.
- 33The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsIf there's anything sadder than a satire without teeth, it's a thriller without thrills. Even sadder is the rare movie that fails at both genres simultaneously. That, and that alone, makes Man Of The Year exceptional.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceLevinson loses his movie, his audience, and his purpose in a tangle of conspiracy theories and crackpot notions that sink the movie just when it begins to transcend expectations. In short, it would have been great if it had stopped, oh, 12 minutes in.
- 30L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasNo doubt, Levinson thought he was making this generation's "Dr. Strangelove." What he's actually made is a desperate, ponderous sop to progressives that caters to all of the left's worst fears about voter fraud, corporate malfeasance and the impossibility of effecting real change.