WEINER – Review

It’s no surprise WEINER is such an entertaining documentary. How could an account of sleazy ex-congressman Anthony Weiner’s failed NYC Mayoral 2013 bid be anything but awesome? Weiner was a colorful pol even before his unfortunate “habit” of texting photos of his genitals to college-age girls was exposed. Put a creep like that on camera 24/7 amidst an against-the-odds shot at returning to political fame, toss in a new sexting scandal, and you’re destined for one of the most gripping political freak-show chronicles ever, which is exactly what first time documentarians Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg have delivered.

Brooklyn native Anthony Weiner, an effective spokesman for liberal positions, served 12 years in Congress, and was once taken seriously as a candidate for higher office. Weiner is married to key Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and was a popular guest on cable news. WEINER opens with footage of Weiner’s  loud, firebrand debating style pre-scandal. In May of 2011 it’s discovered he was sexting pics of his junk to young girls he’d never met (while his wife was pregnant no less). He lied at first, claiming someone must have hacked into his twitter account, but he ultimately fessed up and in June of 2011, resigned his seat in disgrace. WEINER picks up two years later when he’s decided to throw his hat in the ring for the Democrat New York Mayoral primary. This is when filmmakers Kriegman and Steinberg (who once worked for Weiner) are approached to follow the candidate around, resulting in this film. The pair were given extraordinary access to Weiner, who saw himself as the ‘Comeback Kid’ and wanted a record of his rebound to power. Things starts off well for the Weiner campaign. He finds plenty of enthusiastic young supporters to work as volunteers and soon the polling is going his way. But chaos reigns when another sex scandal emerges. Under the name ‘Carlos Danger’, Weiner had found a new cybersex-paramour in the form of Sydney Leathers (her real name!). He again tried to spin his latest transgression, but it soon becomes clear to everyone, except for perhaps Weiner himself, that he is well and truly finished in public life. Wife Huma is increasingly grim and withdrawn as she too watches her dreams go up in smoke. His election night party is a bleak affair (Weiner received less than 5% of the vote). Not only did Huma not bother showing up, the buxom and slightly bucktoothed Sydney Leathers (at the behest of Howard Stern) did. Weiner’s’ handlers do all they can to avoid a confrontation with Miss Leathers and her tight dress, even dragging the candidate through the back of a McDonalds to dodge her. It’s a surreal moment, and I’m sure a far cry from the triumphant reception that Weiner must have had in mind just weeks earlier.

Kriegman and Steinberg’s seemingly limitless access to Weiner makes WEINER one of the best political documentaries I’ve seen. Though Weiner comes off looking terrible, the film is not a hit piece in that  I’m sure the filmmakers were on Team Weiner when the project started, and even they seem shocked at these humiliating moments that they have chronicled. Weiner seems to think he’ll survive this sex scandal like his wife’s boss’s husband did, but while Bill Clinton had charm and charisma, Weiner comes off as abrasive, deluded, and thin-skinned. When Weiner is asked on Lawrence O’Donnell’s MSNBC show “What is wrong with you?”, he smirks and laughs like he has the upper hand.  The filmmakers weave in just the right amount of tabloid headlines and archival TV footage with John Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brian, etc. cracking the expected penis jokes and punny euphemisms. Funniest is Jane Lynch and Bill Maher breathy recitation of ‘Carlos Danger’ and Miss Leather’s sexts on a late-night show. The most jaw-dropping scene is when we see Weiner rehearsing how “profoundly sorry” he is, testing a series of ‘serious’ voices. It’s a nauseating look at just how inauthentic his remorse actually is and a great example of why so many Americans hate politicians.. That he let them film that shows an astonishing lack of self-awareness. You wonder why Weiner doesn’t shut the filming down or at least ask the filmmakers to turn the cameras off during scenes like this. Perhaps his hubris extended even to the idea of this documentary. Hey, why not let the audience watch while he tries to find just the right tone for an apology? Weiner’s got nothing to hide anymore. Escaping this tawdry episode with dignity intact is Sydney Leathers. She has since parlayed her 15 minutes of fame into a lucrative career in hardcore pornography that includes a XXX video titled ‘Weiner and Me’. I’m sure her parents are proud.

5 of 5 Stars

WEINER opens in St. Louis May 27th exclusively at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Theater