It's reasonable to believe that Man of the Year , about a talk-show host (Robin Williams) who is goaded into (successfully) running for president, is a comedy. The box, after all, features Williams in a fancy wig and contains no less than five instances of the word “hilarious.”

Furthermore, whenever Williams' character makes a joke, the next shot we see is of friends/associates/audience members/viewers laughing, as if to remind us that “yes, this is funny!” But outside of one line about the Nielsen ratings, MOTY isn't very funny.

In fact, it's only occasionally a comedy – as well as a thriller, psychodrama and awkward romantic puff piece. If this perpetually confused film is any one thing, it's an excuse: Writer/director Barry Levinson desperately wants the world to see Washington like he sees it, and this is his means of communicating his ideas.

Unfortunately, they're no more thoughtful than the musings of a high school newspaper's commentary editor, and his movie is little more than two hours of Bulworth envy. Christopher Walken and Laura Linney also star.

Extras: Williams improv, behind-the-scenes feature.