Finally, a film that basically comes out and speaks one of the universal truths in the universe. “Wag the Dog” is not afraid to make its theme known, that people are basically very stupid.

(Editor’s note: We do not mean to insinuate that you, personally, are stupid. You are a highly intelligent and well-informed individual. The world is a better place with you in it. It’s everyone else that’s stupid. Not you.)

Here’s the set up for the movie. The president (referred to only as “the president,” even in his campaign commercials, and never actually seen) is charged with having a sexual tryst with a young Firefly Girl. This story may sound oddly familiar if you’ve bothered to watch the news the last couple of days.

Unfortunately, this event happens less than two weeks before election day and such a sex scandal could keep the American public from voting for the president. So something needs to be done fast to turn the public’s attention elsewhere.

Enter Anne Heche and Robert De Niro. Heche is presidential aide Winifred Ames, and De Niro is Conrad Brean, a secretive, underground spin doctor. Together they cook up a scheme to throw the public’s attention away from the sex scandal to the war with Albania.

Why Albania? “Why not?” responds Brean. “What do you know about Albania?”

They get a hold of Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman), a slick Hollywood producer to put on their little war. See, there is no actual military action against Albania. They just want to make the public think there’s a war with Albania. The trick is to just deny everything.

Together, these three actors turn in some fantastic performances. There are also some very good supporting performances, most notably Denis Leary as another Hollywood type and Woody Harrelson as the “lost” war hero who is also a psychotic serial rapist.

Of course, everyone believes the war is happening and the attention of the public is diverted. The idea that people will believe anything because it gets covered by the news. “Of course there’s a war. I’m watching it on TV.”

Problems do come up along the way, but they are quickly taken care of. All that they need to make everyone believe the war is happening is “a theme, a song and some images.”

The only problem with the film is the final half hour, which goes a bit too far, stretching the believability of the story. There’s a plane crash, an attempted rape and a shooting that all seemed a bit out of place. It almost ruined the plausibility of the movie.

That’s the great thing about this very smartly written satire. It’s all seems very possible. That’s also rather disturbing. The fact that this seems like it could really happen. I personally believe that these kind of government cover-ups and misinformation events happen all the time. Or maybe I’ve been watching the X-Files too much.

“Wag the Dog” is a great political satire. Plus, particularly this week, it seems very possible something like this movie may happen given the president’s current difficulties with college interns.

So don’t be surprised if this weekend you hear that the United States has gone to war with Chad. Why Chad? Well, what do you know about Chad?

4 stars out of five.

Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.