FROM THE VAULT

Wag the Dog (1997) Netflix

If you get Robert De Niro or Dustin Hoffman to star in a comedy you’re usually on to a winner. Get them both in the same comedy? You’ve hit the jackpot. Released in 1997 but more relevant today than ever, Barry Levinson’s dark political satire Wag the Dog is centred around a political spin doctor (De Niro) and Hollywood producer (Hoffman) who conspire to stage a phony war to distract attention from an Oval Office sex scandal threatening to erupt two weeks before an election.