Weiner

Everybody knows that politics and political figures are so common with scandal, corruption, and bribes, and you guessed it sex scandals! And the world again was rocked with one Anthony Weiner! This eye opening and interesting film called "Weiner" looks at how the media and scandal of texts and photos and nude pictures help bring down a former congressman and mayoral candidate. The news footage is nearly from every network and the interviews are a compelling saga and the way the camera follows around Anthony and wife Huma is so interesting as you the viewer can feel the tension and pain between the two as the scandals break, and the speak and words from the mouth of Weiner confirm that he is a destroyed and beaten man. Most of you who follow the news know the story in 2010 a hacker and media outlet had broke news that Anthony Weiner had texted and snapped pictures of his erect and hard penis thru his underwear and the incident would cause him to resign from congress and then later in 2013 when he got back in the game or his "New York Grove" the next scandal hit online on a website from a source a young girl named Sydney Leathers who's an attractive big breasted girl that exchanged text nude pictures and even admitted to phone sex with Anthony. And you guessed it this would destroy his mayoral campaign and political life, yet thru it all Huma would stand by her man. Overall near excellent film that shows how a vice when revealed and exposed can destroy your profession and bring you down in life never being the same as some like Anthony Weiner never learn as the habit is so hard to break!

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner gets caught in a sexting scandal and resigns in June 2011. He decides to reenter politics by running for Mayor of New York. His campaign in the Democratic primary in 2013 starts to pick up speed when a second sexting scandal erupts. His wife Huma Abedin again comes to his side but the campaign flounders. Weiner is no doubt a compelling Shakespearian tragic figure. Once his scandal erupts again, this gets very uncomfortable at times. The central star becomes the mysterious Huma. In some respects, she's the Spinx holding back her secrets. In other respects, her looks could kill and she speaks volumes with her silence.

Many politicians have been caught up in scandals, but few have been quite as comical as Anthony Weiner's scandal. He would have been mocked a lot less if he had just cheated with his secretary like other politicians.

While that level of embarrassment would have made me hide in a bunker, Weiner got back on the political horse. As a New Yorker, I was shocked when he entered the mayoral race, and stunned when it looked like he might actually win the nomination.

This documentary follows Weiner's surprising resurgence and less surprising second crash. It's a fascinating movie. Weiner is a natural politician who knows how to work a crowd, but he's also a sex addict who, for all his apologies, seemed never able to accept that he had a problem needing addressing. His wife Huma seems lovely, and much of the movie consists of her looking as though she really, really wants to punch Weiner in the face. We watch the campaign staff as they discover they have signed up for a train wreck. We see Sydney Leathers trying to come across as the aggrieved party while simultaneously using the publicity to start a porn career.

Weiner is an interesting guy, and I think New Yorkers rejected for him less for his sexual compulsion than for his lying about it. In a way it seems as though his denial is a tragic flaw that made Weiner his own worst enemy. It's sad, and my heart breaks for Huma. But let's be honest, it's still one of the most amusing scandals we've had.

"Weiner" (2016 release; 96 min.) is a documentary about disgraced new York politician Anthony Weiner (pronounced: "wiener", not "whiner"). As the movie opens, we have Weiner in an interview chair, talking to the documentary makers. We then go back to 2011, when we get a thumbnail overview of how a sexting scandal led to his resignation from US Congress. We then shift to "May 13, 2013, two years after his resignation". Weiner is about to enter the race for New York Mayor, and along the way decided to give unlimited access to these documentary makers during his campaign. By then you are already nailed to your seat as you watch what is unfolding.

Couple of comments: this is the first full-length documentary for co-writer and directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg. While the comeback attempt in and of itself would've made for riveting viewing, can you imagine how they felt when smack in the middle of the unfolding campaign, another controversy explodes? It doesn't get any better than this for documentaries (on the same level as "The Armstrong Lie" about Lance Armstrong and "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart" about Wilco). There are so many fine moments in this documentary, and I certainly don't want to spoil your viewing experience, but allow me to just point out two scenes: there is a very clever montage of Weiner's campaign taking a foothold and gaining track (to the point of leading the polls), set to the "Theme of S.W.A.T.", and it works beautifully. Even better is the scene between Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin when the second controversy explodes. Ah yes, the wife. Normal people like you and me immediately think: why on earth does she decide to stick by her man, time and again, humiliation upon humiliation? Then it dawns on me: these are not 'normal' people like you and me. Huma stays with Weiner the same reason Hillary stayed with Bill: it's all about the power! These career politicians know one thing, and one thing only: get the power, and stay in power, whatever means necessary, whatever personal sacrifice is needed along the way. When the final curtain comes down (Weiner obviously did not win the mayoral election), one of the directors asks Weiner "why did you let me film all this?". You'll just have to see for yourself how Weiner responds to this... Bottom line: if you like documentaries, you will absolutely love this riveting look at a disgraced politician whose narcissistic personality disorder is fully exposed here.

"Weiner" made a splash when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and I couldn't wait to see it. It finally opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Saturday matinée screening where I saw this at was attended poorly, to my surprise. Maybe strong word-of-mouth (which this movie surely generates) will lead to wider exposure down the road through VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. Meanwhile, "Weiner" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Greetings again from the darkness. Normally I would have no interest in a movie with this title, but in this case, it's a chance to get a glimpse into the psychological make-up of a guy who obliterated his own political career … by simply being unable to keep his privates private. The end result of the efforts from filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg is nearly unrestricted access to a NYC mayor candidate's campaign, as well as a look at a politician that is at times tense, and other times funny (in a laughing AT you kind of way).

In 2011, seven-term New York Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned in the aftermath of a sexting scandal made worse by (what else?) … his lying and attempted cover-up. The film begins with a clip of one of Weiner's explosive speeches, meant to portray his expertise as a legislator and politician. This is quickly followed by the pun-filled headlines that exposed his sexting habit, seemingly leaving his political career in the dust.

Picking up two years later, the film finds the disgraced former Congressman running a campaign for NYC mayor. We can't be too surprised as we have learned numerous times that many politicians are addicted to power and life in the public eye. What makes this an interesting subject is two-fold: how publicly humiliated Weiner had been, and the fact that his wife is Huma Abedin, long-time Hillary Clinton adviser and aide.

We don't learn how it happened, but we do find Anthony and Huma are still married, are parents to a young child (she was pregnant when the first scandal hit), and that Huma fully supports his mayoral candidacy. As the campaign kicks off, Weiner is a frontrunner, proving that we are a forgiving lot. The cameras capture him in full candidate mode – making calls to potential donors, giving speeches, dealing with staffers, and working the crowds at his energy-filled parades. Of course, it's all a façade … or at least half of one.

When the second sexting scandal hits and "Carlos Danger" makes headlines as Weiner's online pseudonym, the real trainwreck begins, and we find it impossible to turn away. It's at this point where our feelings are confirmed … Huma is by far the more interesting of these two personality polar opposites. Where Weiner is two-faced – bouncing between humbled and overly ambitious; Huma is cool, collected and (seemingly) smart.

Weiner remains clueless about his chances, and the level of tension skyrockets in meetings and during spousal moments. It's impossible not to believe that the energies used towards the campaign would have been better spent in therapy – both individual and as a couple. His stream of lies proved he had not changed his ways, and his periodic reflective and apologetic moments are diminished by his true color nastiness, which is more pervasive.

The film gets unnecessarily sidetracked during a segment that features one of Weiner's phone sex relationships – codenamed "Pineapple". Entirely too much time is spent on her pathetic publicity grab, and fortunately it all falls flat. It is a reminder that the media never misses a chance to film a frenzy … even if they have to manipulate it. There is no room in a documentary for TWO trainwrecks! After the film and the irresistible draw of watching this ego-driven dude never once come to grips with why he is socially unacceptable as a leader, we realize there are unanswered questions. Why did Huma stick with her husband? Why was she onboard with him getting back in the game … did she really miss the public eye? The filmmaker flat out asks Weiner "Why have you let me film this?" Perhaps the answer to that last question is somewhat explained when you know that Anthony Weiner made an appearance in "Sharknado 3". Some people just need the spotlight.

The hecklers, the eye rolls, the angry outbursts all lead up to Lawrence O'Donnell asking Weiner "What's wrong with you?" I asked myself that same question after the movie when I realized that I was mesmerized the entire time. As for Huma ever allowing herself to be the subject of a documentary, we can only assume that she is too sagacious to allow such unfettered camera access to her work. I suppose her appearance in the next "Sharknado" is equally unlikely.