With a name like Weiner, the jokes write themselves. There was no need for a sex scandal. Strictly speaking, there was no actual sex in this scandal, which makes the whole sordid mess more pitiful. For those living under a rock, after 9/11, Anthony Weiner was a passionate NY congressman who was the righteously angry voice of New Yorkers, the state and the city, calling the country to account for its patriotic hypocrisy in failing to help first responders. I became familiar with him when he repeatedly appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Then he tweeted out a dicture and resigned from Congress after some inelegant hemming and hawing.
I would love to know what the original thesis was for Weiner, the documentary. Was Weiner supposed to be a documentary of a political comeback? Was Weiner simply supposed to be a profile like Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer? Whatever its original purpose, Weiner ended up chronicling his second, but not final descent into political infamy.
Weiner is largely a documentary about the titular character’s campaign in the New York mayoral race. Initially things go well. NYC voters don’t really care about sex scandals, and if Weiner came clean and his wife, the stunning and brilliant Huma Abedin, and all is well, then everyone was ready to move on. Until it becomes obvious that Weiner did not come clean and has never stopped sexting. Weiner loses because he comes across as someone not in control of his compulsions, both verbal and sexual, and if he is unable to be faithful in spirit to the promises made to his wife, then can he be faithful to his constituents?
Weiner’s appeal is that you get to watch the train wreck up close. Only occasionally does the camera leave the room at the subject’s request, and it is surprising that neither Weiner nor those close to him put an end to the whole project earlier or more often.
When I watched Weiner, it was when his third scandal erupted. Weiner took a dicture with his son in the photo, which led to DCF involvement and questions of sexual abuse. Many women, including powerful ones and feminists, will put up with less than they deserve from a man to keep the family together, but most good mothers will draw the line once her child is in danger. Abedin immediately separated from Weiner to the collective relief of all the viewers who watched her painfully endure the outbreak of the second scandal. Abedin’s presence makes Weiner an uncomfortable film to watch, but she also acts as Weiner’s conscience when he fails to treat his campaigner staff, who are also close friends and “like family,” with suitable candor and sensitivity.
The most pitiful moment in Weiner is when one of the women who had a virtual relationship with him chases him through the streets of NYC for a publicity stunt. Why would you want to chase that nadir other than for fame reasons? You didn’t even have a real world affair. Wouldn’t you want to move on and be known for something other than your least stellar moment (unless it was your most stellar moment, but that seems even sadder)? It is a race to the bottom.
Weiner is an uncomfortable chronicle of the downfall of a man who committed political and personal suicide and is a must see for anyone interested in politics. (Side note: he would still make a better POTUS than some other people with no sense of shame.)