More Celebrity Casting … this time, Wag the Dog

Researching this movie, and stumbling upon words like Astroturfing and proper nouns like Michael Moore and GOP, I decided against any discourse about this movie's significance in the 1990s, and the idea of politicians using the media to manipulate the masses.  It happens, duh. 

Instead, and I've done this before, let's look at all the wonderful actors who turned up in this movie, and better yet, let me rank them!

The Top Blankety Blank People From the Wag the Dog in terms Career Success

9.  Craig T. Nelson

Or, maybe you know him as "Coach".  I never watched that show, and all I know about it are 1) the main guy, this guy, was in Wag the Dog and 2) the other guy from it was the dumb guy from the Stephen King epic TV movie.  Yes, I am being awarded pints of Ben & Jerry's ice cream by the ambiguity of my descriptions of 1990s sitcoms. 

8.  Anne Heche

Now that her career is over, despite fond memories I have of her in Volcano and Return to Paradise (starring opposite of Vince Vaughn in a serious drama HAS to be hysterical nowadays), all she really will be remembered for is being a lesbian, or maybe having a relationship with Ellen Degeneres.  Meh.

7.  Denis Leary

There's nothing like someone who creates his style through ranting.  Great comedian.  He's also great as the villain in Judgment Night which is another one of those terrible 90s movies that gets better for the wrong reasons with age.  Here's the story: Emilio Estevez and his friends (Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven and some other guy) take a wrong turn which eventually leads to them being chased by Denis Leary and Everlast (you know, the guy from House of Pain who sang "Jump Around … Jump Around … Jump up jump up and get down!"  How do I not own this movie?  I have no idea. 

6.  Kirsten Dunst

Surprisingly, she's the most popular of this group today and that's probably because she's quite young in this one (you may remember her as "Woman who holds bag of chips that turns into a cat through modern filming technology" or as "Random Albanian Girl Running From War").

5.  William H. Macy

I've already written much about him on my blog so not much more to add, but he dominated acting the late 90s similar to a way Scottie Pippen dominated the NBA. 

4.  Woody Harrelson

What a career this guy is having.  Sure, he's never really been a lead actor in a dramatic role, but the boy from Hanover, turned serial killer, turned pothead, turned whatever he is now, has sure done a lot. 

3.  Willie Nelson

This is where it gets tricky.  Everyone knows who Willie Nelson is, and everybody loves him.  If someone were to say, "I hate Willie Nelson" you'd question whether they have a soul.  Yet, he continues to get arrested for possession of marijuana.  I understand fame shouldn't make one person above the law, but Willie Nelson is old, and he and Snoop Dogg should be able to get high whenever they want. 

2.  Dustin Hoffman

Now who's more popular, Willie Nelson or Dustin Hoffman?  I'd say Dustin Hoffman in his prime was more talented at his trade than Willie Nelson in his prime, but Willie Nelson's talent has aged better, and is more popular.  If this were a music list, I'd rank Willie higher.

1.  Robert DeNiro

Not much left to say about Bobby D.  Fortunately, this is one of his last good movies so I won't have to talk about him too much anymore.