Be the first one to write a review. A comedy about a psychiatrist whose number one patient is an insecure mob boss. To understand what I am talking about, you first need to watch the trailer for the 1997 movie, Wag the Dog, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro. In the film, titled Wag the Dog, fictional political fixers orchestrate the invasion of a country in order to distract from a presidential sex scandal. The phrase originates in the saying "a dog is smarter than its tail, but if the tail were smarter, then it would wag the dog." Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. The title of the film comes from the saying in America why does a dog wag its tail? Book at one of our 9 California locations today! Although wag the dog was initially applied to Clinton, the sense of ‘superfluous military action to distract from domestic scandal’ has been too useful to leave in the 1990s, and has been applied to every subsequent president. One-on-one training gives you a tailored, personalized experience in your dog’s own environment. An accountant is chased by bounty hunters, the F.B.I., and the Mafia after jumping bail. Puppy Training. The tail wagging the dog is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. Wag the Dog demonstrates many media principles. The 1997 film Wag the Dog shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of "superfluous (military) action in order to distract from domestic scandal." In natural sense to wag a tail simply means to shake it back and forth, which dogs do any time they are happy. These pet care servics include dog walking, pet sitting and overnight stays. Does anyone remember Libya? After ... See full summary ». With Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson. It did not take long for the form to change slightly, and wag was substituted for waggle. Motörhead Tease ‘No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith’ Reissue With Unreleased Live Version of ‘The Hammer’, ‘Way Down in the Rust Bucket’ Is the Sound of Neil Young and Crazy Horse Getting Reinvigorated for the Nineties, Peter Bart: Hollywood Stars Love Playing Presidents, But Trump Is Far From Central Casting. Wag Hotels is a full service dog & cat hotel featuring boarding, training, spa services and doggy daycare. Was this review helpful to you? One of his advisers contacts a top Hollywood producer in order to manufacture a war in Albania that the president can heroically end, all through mass media. The expression comes from the saying that 'a dog is smarter than its tail', but if the tail were smarter, then the tail would 'wag the dog'. The President of the United States is involved in a sex scandal. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! As the movie was released shortly before President Clinton was embroiled in a real-life sex scandal, the title began being used in an attributive fashion, applied to military actions. The 1997 film Wag the Dog shortened the phrase and added the additional meaning of "superfluous (military) action in order to distract from domestic scandal.". The movie is a satire that contains just enough realistic ballast to be teasingly plausible; like " Dr. Strangelove," it makes you laugh, and then it makes you wonder. Start your puppy on the path to greatness with our Puppy Prodigy Program. Set your young readers up for lifelong success, Study Up With Our Official SCRABBLE Dictionary. [1] The screenplay concerns a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer who fabricate a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal. The tail wagging the dog is an idiom that usually refers to something important or powerful being controlled by something less so. If the tail is wagging the dog, then the consequence will be that the dog will be made to be stupid. Others have come from the world of theater, such as malapropism (“a usually humorous misapplication of a word or phrase”), from the name of a character in Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals. Its earliest use is in the 1858 play Our American Cousin. nomad Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal. Wag-the-dog-style little war chances will increase, distracting the public from possible future bad domestic news. More than 150,000 Pet Caregivers nationwide are dog people, and it shows. Wag The Dog (2,207) IMDb 7.2 1 h 37 min 1998 X-Ray R A tale of politics, power and Hollywood so outrageous it could be true! 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