Anthony Weiner was forced to resign from congress in 2011 over a sexting scandal. Then he decided to run for New York mayor in 2013 and let a documentary crew film his campaign. KPBS film critic Beth Accomando says what follows will make your jaw drop. The documentary Weiner begins with the former congressmen already regretting his decision. CLIP This is the worst doing a documentary on my scandal. But it’s not. Things get decidedly worse and all we can do is watch in stunned silence and wonder why would he run for public office knowing more scandal was waiting in the wings and why let a documentary crew follow him and his beleaguered wife around to chronicle the meltdown. But Weiner loves the limelight no matter what the cost. CLIP I would hope that it’s more than just a punch line that I would be viewed as the full person that I was. Umm, not likely although he has a certain New York tenacity that could be seen as admirable or maybe just absurd. Beth Accomando, KPBS News.
Companion viewing
"The Candidate" (1972)
"The War Room" (1993)
"A Perfect Candidate" (1996)
The documentary "Weiner" opened in San Diego theaters over the weekend (Landmark Hillcrest and Arclight La Jolla) and it chronicles the mayoral campaign of Anthony Weiner.
Weiner was forced to resign from Congress in 2011 over a sexting scandal. Then he decided to run for New York mayor in 2013 and let a documentary crew film his campaign.
Why? Why? Why?
That's the big question that permeates the documentary. It is also what rivets us to the screen the way you can't resist looking at the car crash on the side of the road as you drive by.
The documentary opens with a quote from Marshall McLuhan: “The name of a man is a numbing blow from which he never recovers.”
This seems especially apt for Weiner whose name and scandal complemented each other so well that comedians and the media could not resist the low hanging comedy potential. (Here are a few examples.)
Filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg then follow up this quote with a shot of the former congressmen already regretting his decision to make the documentary.
Weiner says under his breath on his cell phone as he waits for the person on the other end to answer: "This is the worst, doing a documentary on my scandal."
But it’s not the worst. Things get decidedly worse and all we can do is watch in stunned silence and wonder why would he run for public office knowing more scandal was waiting in the wings and why let a documentary crew follow him and his beleaguered wife around to chronicle the meltdown. But Weiner loves the limelight no matter what the cost.
At the end of the film Weiner tells the filmmakers, "I would hope that it’s more than just a punch line that I would be viewed as the full person that I was."
But sadly that's not the case.
Kriegman worked as former congressman Weiner's chief of staff in the mid-2000s and he probably realized that Weiner's personality and desire for attention would probably make him a willing participant in the documentary. Kriegman might have also suspected that Weiner would be an entertaining subject and likely to have another meltdown. I'm not sure which Kriegman and his co-director Steingberg might have been hoping for — a comeback or a meltdown but they got the latter.
Releasing the film now in the midst of the presidential campaign gives the film added buzz for two reasons: one, it's a study of a campaign in crisis so it provides insight into the political process; and two, Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin has been a longtime aid to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And that's another "why" the film raises. Why would Abedin encourage her husband to keep running for office and then why does she stand so steadfastly by him? I suppose the answer must be love, but Abedin has moments on camera where she looks so pained and disappointed that it is difficult to understand her decision.
"Weiner" (rated R for language and some sexual material) is a fascinating study of a politician who just can't seem to make the smart decisions be it in his personal life or on the campaign trail taking on the media and individuals in a highly combative manner. He has a certain New York tenacity that could be seen as admirable, or maybe just absurd.
