On Rotten Tomatoes, Wag the Dog has an approval rating of 86%, based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Smart, well-acted, and uncomfortably prescient political satire from director Barry Levinson and an all-star cast."[10] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating, the film has a score of 73 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]
Roger Ebert awarded the film four stars of four, and wrote in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, "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."[12] He ranked it as his tenth favorite film of 1997.[13]
Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post rated it at number 12 on her list of the best political movies ever made.[14]
Accolades
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman | Nominated | [15] |
| Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published | Hilary Henkin and David Mamet | Nominated | ||
| Artios Awards | Best Casting for Feature Film – Comedy | Ellen Chenoweth and Debra Zane | Nominated | [16] |
| Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | Barry Levinson | Nominated | [17] |
| Special Jury Prize | Won | |||
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Hilary Henkin and David Mamet | Nominated | [18] |
| Critics' Choice Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | [19] | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | [20] | |
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Dustin Hoffman | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay – Motion Picture | Hilary Henkin and David Mamet | Nominated | ||
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Anne Heche (also for Donnie Brasco) | Won | [21] |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Dustin Hoffman | 3rd Place | [22] |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Comedy/Musical Picture | Danny DeVito, Barry Levinson, and Jane Rosenthal | Nominated | [23] |
| Best Comedy/Musical Actor | Dustin Hoffman | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium | Hilary Henkin and David Mamet | Nominated | ||
| Political Film Society Awards | Democracy | Nominated | ||
| Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards | Best Foreign Actor | Robert De Niro | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Dustin Hoffman | Nominated | [24] |
| Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Anne Heche | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | Dustin Hoffman | Nominated | [25] |
| Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Film | 7th Place | ||
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published | Hilary Henkin and David Mamet | Nominated | [26] |
