If anything, in the years since its release, the worlds of politics, entertainment, and news media have grown even more intertwined in which narratives are carefully controlled and expectations are minimal.

| Jan 2, 2018

Hilary Henkin and David Mamet's script is gleefully hyperbolic without ever straying from its political target.

| Mar 30, 2009

Lazily assembled by director Levinson, it slides into a series of soft, extended skits on engineering a media war, not helped by several badly handled leaps in the story.

| Jan 26, 2006

Amusing as it is, Wag The Dog does what it purports to sat irize -- the bark is real but the teeth aren't.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 12, 2002

The pacing is crisp, the dialogue quippy and fast, the tone arch but energetic.

Full Review | Feb 14, 2001

A wicked smart satire on the interlocking worlds of politics and show business, Wag the Dog confirms every awful thought you've ever had about media manipulation and the gullibility of the American public.

| Feb 14, 2001

The picture conveys an irresistible pleasure in fakery for its own sake, and that's its charm.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

A very classy act of nose thumbing.

| Original Score: B | Jan 1, 2000

As a cautionary tale, Wag the Dog may find itself somewhat in the position of preaching to the converted, but the pews will radiate with the sounds of laughter.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2000

Between the laughs, there are moments that ring so true they can raise goosebumps.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Packed full of wickedly amusing details and expertly modulated performances.

| Jan 1, 2000

With this cast, Dog could use a much bigger bite.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 1, 2000

A bright idea well realized by director Barry Levinson.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

Wag the Dog has the confidence to let its own jaded view speak volumes for itself.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

When the film makes the leap from plausibly outrageous to pure satire, it slips, and the logic goes with it.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

Absurd and convincing at the same time.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Director Barry Levinson and writers Hilary Henkin and David Mamet (no less) have obviously known their share of Stanleys, and we have no trouble believing in him.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

Great acting, great filmmaking, half-realised idea -- but nonetheless entertaining.

| Jan 1, 2000

Wag the Dog could have been a one-joke scenario, but it's consistently rescued from monotony by a smart script.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

Swift, hilarious and impossible to resist.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2000