Long before the acid intelligent humor from works such as "The Thick of It", In the Loop" and "Veep" Armando Iannucci started out with this funny mockumentary chronicling the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal but as seen from a distant perspective and how the major players were affected by it years into the future.
"Clinton: His Struggle with Dirt" is positively fun and hilarious yet it's far from the geniality of the writer/director other works. It's still charateristic Brit humor at its best, with memorable moments and a great critique on the political zeitgeist of the 1990's.
Iannucci takes us to the futuristic 2028 (so close now) as president Bill Clinton, intern staffer Monica Lewinsky, her "friend" Linda Tripp, prosecutor Ken Starr and others present their recollections and exclusive behind the scenes moments from the scandal and its coverage by the press. The short mixes real news footage, changing the actual context of events along with actors and comedians acting out the older versions of the mentioned figures. They recall the past, with some regrets, some proud and plenty of hilarious stories to share.
The imagination of 1998 about 2028 perception on the case that almost brought Clinton presidency down is of a lighthearted humored event that shook the world with some unusual twists in the years to come. The real context we live on (3 more years to get there, as of this writing) goes a little different as most people don't make fun of the people involved or the sex scandal as the late 1990's talk shows, humored skits and the media already covered everything in a shameless manner, blaming or shaming Monica Lewinsky without hearing her side of the story . The dynamics changed drastically and it's not even funny anymore.
Gladly, this mockery manages to be creative and fun to watch as Iannucci and his crew truly captured the essence of then current events and imagine how worse that affair would turn out to be. It's fun and curious to think about that. 9/10.
