Weiner

In the closing statement of this in depth look at the raise and fall, and the raise and fall again, Weiner states "why did I let you document this"? Why in deed Mr. Weiner, why in deed! Directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Sternberg become the proverbial fly-on-wall as Weiner attempts to emerge from the sex-texting scandal that forced him to resign, and placed his up and coming political wife Huma Agedin (Chairwomen for Hillary Clinton 2016 campaign for President and personal assistant) in a an uncomfortable position of standing by her man. One of the many sad beauties of this bio-documentary is Weiner's eagerness to be filmed while going through tough personal and public hardships. Luckily for the film viewer, this glimpse into their scandal (past and present) is pure inside politics magic. While so many things can be learned from this film (i.e. don't hold office and do what Weiner did), this film is also a look at how the media eats up scandals and delivers the results on a plate for all to devour, and how some people (Weiner) are so self- absorbed that they welcome the public to watch themselves go down with the ship. At films end, one doesn't fell sorry for the Weiner's, only shame that they opened their private doors for all to see. Because politics is a fickle business, I won't be surprised to see Anthony Weiner (the public figure and his private parts) again in the not so distant future.

I grimaced (both with amusement and embarrassment) throughout this tightly-edited portrait of an egomaniac. The filmmakers were allowed an amazing amount of access in to subjects lives, during which the viewer can't help but debate if we want to like or despise Anthony Weiner. I think that was also what his spouse, Huma Abedin was debating the whole time too. Weiner: A guy who literally could not keep his d**k in his pants. The question is raised during the film, to whether or not Anthony may have a mental illness or sex addition, which is never really addressed - more accepted. A highlight is when Weiner snaps at the filmmaker for daring to ask him a question. Great Film! 9/10

I really like the documentary because it does not editorialize. There is not one voice over in the whole thing. It is just Anthony Weiner ramping up his attempt to win the Democratic Mayoral primary, which in New York, is tantamount to winning the mayor's race since the city is overwhelmingly Democratic. Weiner had been the seven term liberal firebrand of a Democratic congressman from Brooklyn until a case of him sexting a woman along with pictures of his private parts came to light and caused him to resign in disgrace in 2011. His campaign starts out with hope in the spring of 2013, but soon with his rise in the polls, more sexting by Weiner rises to the surface because he is in the limelight again. He tries to paper over it, and the documentary lets you see him trying to paper over it, by saying that he had already said he had problems in his marriage and that he had never said exactly when the sexting problem began and ended. This sounded too much like "it depends on what your definition of is is" from the Clinton years and he crashed and burned politically, winding up in the single digits on primary day. This is no fluff piece. You see Weiner lose his temper, get involved in shouting matches with a guy in a Deli, and with Lawrence O'Donnell on liberal friendly MSNBC. Weiner thinks it makes him look like a fighter, instead it comes across as a refusal to face his problems. And as for his wife Huma Abadin, I just felt so sorry for her. Weiner must be surely suffering from an addiction if he is chasing after random women on the internet with such a smart sexy lady as his wife. After the more recent sexting comes to light, Huma never really says anything, but you can tell by her posture and look of indifference that she is likely mad as hell under that calm cool exterior. Worse, she is probably profoundly disappointed in someone who had regained her trust. One particular scene said it all for me as to Weiner's self centeredness. When the additional sexting comes to light he tells Huma he wants her with him all day. Not because he is worried about her mental state or needs her emotional support, but because he is "afraid someone (the press) will get to her". It's too bad that such a narcissist and sex addict was also rolled into the personality of somebody who seemed to genuinely care about average people, had an average upbringing so he knew where other people were coming from, and was willing to fight for what he thought was right. What a waste.

I'm not going to do a precis of the film, given others here already have. But: 1) I'm a picky so'n'so, and I think anything above 8/10 requires bribery or blackmail. Yet I barely hesitated on giving this full marks. 2) Most of the reviews are from men, who are bemused as to why Abedin stayed with Weiner for so long. As a woman, I'd suggest it's because ... 3) I've never seen charisma come over before on a screen. There's watchable in terms of actors, but that's different. This guy OOOZES charisma, to the point that it's leaking out of the screen. She didn't stay with him because she wanted to stay, she stayed because she struggled to leave. This review is being written on 9/11/16, i.e. the day of Trump's victory in the US election (he makes a brief, hugely hypocritical contribution in the first 10 mins). The BBC showed this over the weekend, which was just after the Clinton / FBI / Abedin / Weiner contribution to the e-mail issue. Either the Beeb got *very* lucky on scheduling, or they pulled a blinder on rescheduling. Trump has no self-awareness, cares nothing for his electorate, and struggles to stay away from women. Weiner's the opposite on the first two points, but identical on the third. Watch this film if you want to see the kind of human who should be allowed power, as opposed to the sociopath who's achieved it.

"I did a lot of things. But I did a lot of other things, too." Anthony Weiner The tragicomic story of seven-term congressman from New York, Anthony Weiner, is almost too absurd to be true. After resigning from Congress over sexting, while waging a vigorous 2013 campaign for mayor of NYC, Weiner is disclosed to have texted again visions of his maleness to other women than his wife, Huma Abedin. The tragedy is that this aide to then Senator Hillary Clinton is an accomplished woman, totally undeserving the abject humiliation her husband's sexting has caused her. Filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg in this fascinating doc called Weiner gained permission from him to film his most intimate moments of the campaign, especially with his wife while his tech-straying disgrace is made public. While for us commoners, such peccadilloes amount to little in a public forum (but much, of course, in the personal arena), these moments are heart-rending to see: This accomplished wife forces herself, with barely a smile, to support her husband. The ancient Greeks knew well the flaws and foibles of celebrities gone wild. In this revelation of hubris, an overweening pride that comes before the fall, even the tragedians might not have dared to show the Congressman sexting even after his initial exposure (so to speak). Yes, he sends photos of his masculinity to a 22 year old woman, who will complete his ignominy by revealing them to a press overjoyed at a second round. The despair is that he had seemingly come back into the good graces of the public, only to be outed again and lose that support and the mayoral primary to Bill DeBlasio. The documentary is there for the grand moments of revelation and shame, none more poignant than privately with his wife, who seems almost shell-shocked by the new revelation. Unfortunately, the quotes at the beginning of this review are the most insight we ever get, despite the filmmakers' intimacy, to help us understand why such a gifted populist should so carelessly toss away his position and reputation. Perhaps his wife's mute incredulity stands for our own. In the end we must conclude with a saying never more appropriate than here: "Who knows the secrets of the human heart?"

It's funny. Damn funny. Just saying the word 'Weiner' makes me laugh. I know, I'm ten years old, but I laugh every time. I'm not the only one though, as you can listen to forty seconds of a radio show below to see well-respected and professional film critics laugh at the word. It might be ironic and even funnier when you say the word and imply the former politician Anthony Weiner from a few years ago, given what happened with that guy's political run and life. Luckily for us, a couple people made a documentary on Anthony Weiner's life in the thick of all the scandals, simply titled 'Weiner'. Filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg were granted heavy access in Weiner's home and political campaign offices as Weiner himself was given a second chance in New York City to run for Mayor. If we back up a bit, and as this documentary shows in the first couple of minutes, is that Anthony Weiner was once the top of the democratic field with his amazing and boastful performance at the House of Representatives that made the news for quite a while. You couldn't talk about politics or social issues without bringing up Anthony Weiner and his courageous stand against the opposing view. It wasn't very long before Weiner became a joke, when an image of his weiner showed up in a sexual text message to someone other than his wife Huma Abedin, who was a former adviser for Hillary Clinton. Anthony lies to the people and media about it all, but then confessed. He resigned from his political office and tried to work on his marriage. This is where this 'Weiner' documentary picks up, with Anthony asking the people for a second chance and his run for mayor. We get glimpses of his home life, campaign rallies, and him riding a bike in New York. Things look on the up and up, but a new scandal hits again with new images taken recently of Weiner's weiner, this time fully exposed to a woman named Sydney Leathers. In the heart of him running for mayor, all of these images leak and his family and media jump all over it, and not necessarily in a good way. Anthony tries to talk politics on numerous television shows and interviews, but the only thing anyone wants to talk about is his weiner. It's funny and sad all at the same time, and this intimate documentary shows the awkward and sad moments that Huma had to endure at her husband's now public weiner. Anthony seems like a nice enough guy and he seemed to be on top of his game, but he just couldn't seem to keep it in his pants, at least on a text message. The real villain here is Sydney Leathers, who made everything public just to be famous and get money. She even tried to to show up to his campaign office on election night to make it awkward. That's poor form, but hey, she went on to do adult films. I don't know if Anthony Weiner can ever recover from this second scandal, but I hope the people of the USA can look past personal lives and focus on the political issues he stood for, because that's what it's all about, and not some naked photos online. The documentary does a good fly-on-the-wall type of approach and never gets in the way of any political issues here. It's just about the Weiner family's life in and out of a particularly embarrassing scandal. RECOMMENDED!

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 * 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.

It's so easy to judge Anthony Weiner from reading text on social media, in the newspaper, and / or the news shows on TV. "Weiner" is a great documentary film and as others have written, riveting. I was fixated the entire 90 minutes; all the time asking myself, "Why would he let them document this?", all the while cringing for his wife, Huma Abedin. Where is the line drawn between loyalty and abuse? Although Huma is very clear on where she will and won't participate in the documentary, you wonder where and when does her loyalty to her husband become nothing more than emotional abuse? There are two types of obscene behavior, the indecent kind that brought Anthony Weiner down, and the disgusting kind that has little disregard for the rights of others. The documentary exposes the latter in a defining rarity: With only 4 - 5 % of the vote and dead last, the media chases Weiner all around like dogs in heat trying to squeeze every last tidbit out of the story. Who are we to judge? When we become persistent observers of misery or scandal...fascinated with the distressing sordid scandalous events of others, are we engaging in voyeurism? If you see the movie, please let me hear back from you.

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.

"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!