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Movie Review: 'Weiner'

By Bill Wine
KYW Newsradio 1060

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- He's Anthony Weiner.

And now a slight pause while you inject whichever of the many jokes involving his punch line of a last name come to mind.

Now, the last thing this very public person – and a politician at that – needs is to give the world something salacious to connect his name to.

Yet that's what he did.

Twice.

And with the release of Weiner, make that thrice.

Nothing like a sexting scandal to power-wash a reputation.

Weiner is a fly-on-the-wall documentary that comprises a pointed portrait in self-destruction.

This is the sad saga of former New York Congressman Weiner's attempt to rehabilitate his public image after his first reported sexting involvement and also – astonishingly – during his second episode, after he had publicly declared himself a new man.

 

2½
(2½ stars out of 4)

 

It is co-directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, both directorially debuting. That the former served as Weiner's chief of staff before turning to filmmaking may be the explanation for why Weiner granted them such unfettered access – something Weiner may, or may already have, come to regret.

Having been publicly humiliated, Weiner, two years after leaving Washington, joined the 2013 race for New York City mayor, in the hopes of resurrecting his career with a triumphant comeback, one he then undermined himself by resorting to an old, embarrassing habit.

By the time the twice-disgraced pol was perceived as a repeat offender, the public already knew his sexting monicker, the alias he used to text explicit photos to a 22-year-old woman, "Carlos Danger."

Danger, indeed.

Weiner's defense: Yes, he did it and it was wrong, but it involved no physical contact with anybody and hurt no one other than his wife. About whom more in a bit.

When the filmmakers originally embarked on their project, their intent was to deliver a tale of redemption. And what we see in moments and scenes are Weiner's impressive and aggressive political skills, and his devotion to the subject of income inequality.

But the comeback was not to happen as wishful-thinking scripted at all.

And then, as promised, there's Weiner's wife, political operative Huma Abedin, a close advisor to Hillary Clinton, standing by her man despite her obvious discomfort.

Given the unprecedented total access Kriegman and Steinberg were granted by Weiner, they're able to pull back the curtain to reveal behind-the-scenes footage that is undeniably fascinating and often startling.

But there's so much of it that compels us on the surface that perhaps it distracts the documentarians from doing complete justice to the WHY? of it all -- with regard to Weiner and with regard to Abedin.

In truth, and with all the privileged-moment footage on display, Weiner, once a rising star in the Democratic Party during his seven terms in the House of Representatives before resigning his seat in 2011, remains a mystery.

We see him on the campaign trail, we see him at home with his wife and toddler son, we see him on the phone raising money, we see him strategizing with staffers.

And we see Huma's telling stares and glares as she battles through her travails trying not to look shell-shocked.

But we expect explanations or at least theories that never come.

So we'll vote for 2-1/2 stars out of 4 for an interesting political-collapse documentary that holds up but doesn't dig deep. There's food for thought here but, to be frank, it's an undercooked Weiner.

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