(Full disclosure: This film review is written by a liberal.)
I hit my first film in the San Francisco International Film Festival, Al Franken: God Spoke, Nick Doob's and Chris Hegedus's documentary about the comedian-turned-politician and his post 9/11 mission to expose the Bush Administration's propagandist messaging.
In the film Franken insists that he's not pushing a liberal agenda so much as he is compelled to expose distortions of the truth. Yet, as the story evolves, a deeper conviction emerges and his role shifts from an illuminator of Republican folly to a self-appointed politician, taking up the cause like my Dad would when the men that were hired to clean the gutter didn't follow through--determined to get a dirty job done himself.
In an hour and a half we are taken from a bitter panel, where Franken is seated with arch media rival, Bill O'Reilly, to a number of his speaking gigs in front of (admittedly) sympathetic crowds, through the launch and disruption of his liberal radio network, Air America, to the crushing blow of the Democratic defeat in '04 and his decision to run for office in his native Minnesota.
The most blatant pitting of good and evil happens at the very beginning of the film, with O'Reilly reacting to Franken's latest book with bullying anger. O'Reilly is an intimidating character and yet Franken never blanches or bats an eye at O'Reilly's increasingly desperate attempts to discredit him. He doesn't engage in combat, but he doesn't retreat either; he is willing to see these characters eye to eye, observe them and then point out inaccuracies. This is the first hint of Franken's determination and political destiny as a Democrat leader.
Showing this film in San Francisco was a no-brainer. Filmmakers far less experienced than Doob and Hegedus could also have elicited cheers from the crowd whenever their subject subtly skewered his right-wing detractors, and hisses whenever President Bush or Ann Coulter showed on the screen. The directors are obvious liberals, capturing mundane but telling moments--Coulter's exaggerated leg crossing and obsession with running her fingers through her hair; Republicans' seeming lack of humor in all public discourse--that suggest that, at the very least Dems can take a joke.
But their film goes beyond exploiting the obvious talent of Franken for charming people. In the end we see behind the laugh track something quite serious, as the film picks up intensity and it becomes obvious that politics is more than a strategic niche for Franken's comedy; it's a calling. Perhaps it's the ultimate purpose behind his career.
Franken is not a liberal kamikaze; he's a witty ambassador who knows when to tone it down before wearing out his welcome. As the film progresses he raises his voice more, stops appealing to people's brains and funny bones and goes directly for their hearts. He becomes less a funny man than a driven advocate. The shift comes to a climax when John Kerry loses the presidential election, and Franken cries silently to himself. Up to that point the question still lingers, is this just a gig for Franken? Now the question seems silly, as do Conservatives' barbs at Franken that he's become a political commentator to replace his flagging entertainment career. The threads have connected and we see that he's always been a politician, weaving through the system with growing alacrity, not aware until the '04 election that it's time to pull it all together and be the change he wants--not poke fun at those who haven't done it better.
Where the directors triumph is in allowing some humanity from the other side and satisfying our desire for complexity--not a full-out attack against conservatism. I've seen Coulter on television before, and while I don't agree with anything she says, I've admired her ability to reason. She seems genuine in her desire to answer a ludicrous question posed to her in a panel with Franken (it wasn't a debate, since the moderator overzealously prevented them from engaging in one): What traits does she admire in Franken? I had to appreciate her restraint in not using the opportunity to promote her party and instead simply stating the obvious--he's funny. Yet her other overambitious responses paled next to Franken's, who didn't say anything with law school obfuscation or self-absorption. He was willing to lose the argument, which gave him more room to win.
(Not a transcription, but rather a simplified recollection of the discourse):
MODERATOR: What historic public figure would you have liked to be (can't remember the phrasing)
COULTER: Joseph McCarthy (with some explanation. She's more intrigued in the man than a fan of his); no one has so effectively exposed the Democrats. And FDR, because then I could have prevented the New Deal.
MODERATOR: Al, you've had some time to think about this now.
FRANKEN: Yes, I know, it's not fair.
MODERATOR: So how would you answer the question.
FRANKEN: I would say Hitler (long pause as audience takes it in and giggles nervously) because then I could have prevented the Holocaust...
Of course the film didn't capture any missteps or pigheaddedness on Franken's part; it was a view into the life of a commentator, not a player. The next logical, and honest, step would be to profile Franken when he's navigating the muck of running for office. Yet the film did capture nonpartisan moments that hinted at the kind of leader he would be. Someone who likes to sleep in, but once he's up insists on doing what he feels is right. Someone who wants to tell the joke about the guy growing a penis out of his head but who now has to think twice before serving shock value. He wants to but knows that, this time, there's more at stake than a few laughs.
San Francisco International Film Festival Al Franken Hegedus Doob
I actually thought the film did a decent job of showing Franken's folly (a new cereal coming to your grocery store shelves soon!) as well as his comic greatness and earnestness. I don't think they underscored it (nor did they aim to make him look bad) but his human foibles are there for the world to see, including that extended sequence of him getting his Dockers tangled up in the furniture.
And I'm sorry, but Ann Coulter is a twat. Really. I hate to get down on the sisterhood, but she *is* smart and personable and witty and chooses her powers for evil (self-aggrandizement and self-promotion, although I'm no fan of the current administration).
Frankly, I found this movie inutterably depressing: not the passion or the good intent, but the spitting-into-the-wind nature of the whole liberal proposition at this point in time. Makes me want to crawl into bed with cookies and tea and a childhood book. Ugh.
Posted by: Colleen Wainwright | April 24, 2006 at 08:28 AM