10 Great Movies That Show How Stupid Politics Really Is

8. Wag The Dog

Sometimes political comedies go for broad laughs - at other times they can hit the nail on the head with unnerving accuracy or even predict future events, as is the case with Barry Levinson's Wag The Dog. After the president is accused of making advances against an underaged girl, his adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) calls on spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro) to cover it up. He decides the best course of action would be to fake a war, bringing in Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) to bring to life the jingoistic piece of propaganda. Initially released a month before the Lewinsky scandal, from which Bill Clinton would eventually be impeached, Wag The Dog was also noted for the war aspect - in the wake of the accusations Clinton ordered the bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan. Although there's no evidence to suggest that this attack was actually a Hollywood production.