WEINER film review

– By Cate Marquis –

‘Weiner’ documents politician’s comeback brought down by sexting scandal

“Weiner” is an involving political documentary about former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner, who represented New York’s district for seven terms until his career was ended in 2011 by a scandal, in which he was caught sexting and posting of suggestive photos of himself on social media. However, the documentary is not about the scandal but Weiner’s 2013 try for a political comeback, running for mayor of New York City.

Directors Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman begin their fly-on-the-wall documentary with a reminder that Weiner already had a media problem with his unfortunate name. Nonetheless, Weiner was elected to the House from New York, and was praised as one of the few Democrats to stand up to Republicans in Congress. The documentary then quickly recaps the scandal, and the firestorm of media and comedian delight in frat-house fun using his name. Finally, Weiner was forced to resign, apologizing to voters and his family for the shame, and vowing it would never happen again.

American politics, as the film notes, is all about second chances. In 2013, it looked like the scandal had run its course. Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin, a close Hilary Clinton associate, had dealt with the marital issues sparked by the scandal. Weiner decided to run for mayor of New York, with Huma bringing her political skills to bear in launching the campaign.

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