Weiner (Rhoades)

Front Row at the Movies

“Weiner” Is No Laughing Matter

Reviewed by Shirrel Rhoades

No, I’m not going to make any jokes about Anthony Weiner’s name. You’ve heard them all. Weiner is the politician who in 2011 resigned from Congress after he got caught sexting -- that is, sending nude photos of himself to women.

“Weiner” is a documentary about him. It’s now playing at Tropic Cinema.

While the film covers Weiner’s initial downfall, it focuses more on his comeback attempt, when he entered the 2013 race for New York mayor. He was doing well in a crowded field when more evidence of his sexting popped up (no, that isn’t meant as a double entendre).

Directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, their camera captures an insider’s view of the crumbling campaign. You’re up close, practically looking over the shoulder of Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Mahmood Abedin (a close advisor to Hilary Clinton).

No spoiler alert needed: Anybody who watches TV knows his campaign lost its momentum, with Weiner finishing fifth place in the Democratic primary. He now works as a consultant.

Rather than a source of dirty jokes, this doc is more akin to Greek tragedy. Like the plays of Sophocles and Euripides, where hubris causes the fall of a king, we witness a tragic flaw bringing down a mighty politician. One who went by the prophetic online pseudonym of “Carlos Danger.” No joke.

srhoades@aol.com