“What is wrong with you?” asked Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC when Anthony Weiner showed up for an interview. Weiner follows the disgraced former New York congressman as Weiner tries to resuscitate his political career by running for the Mayor of New York City. Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg were given unprecedented access to the candidate. And, trust me, there are dozens of cringe-worthy moments in this documentary. Weiner begins with optimism and hope. Anthony Weiner’s beautiful, intelligent wife–Huma Abedin (an aide to Hillary Clinton)–supports her husband’s bid. But, we all know the Titanic is heading for the iceberg. Weiner’s previous sexting with women on the Internet (while his wife was pregnant) is suddenly eclipsed by new revelations of Weiner sending photos of his “private parts” to women like Sidney Leathers. The Weiner campaign goes into crisis mode.
Why did Weiner send photos of his penis to women on the Internet. Why did Weiner call himself “Carlos Danger”? Why did Huma Abedin stay with Weiner? Weiner doesn’t answer these questions. But watching this a slow-motion political train-wreck on an epic scale took my breath away. GRADE: A