Citizen Weiner

SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! Local elections can often have more impact on our daily lives than the national races that dominate the airwaves. And if Citizen Weiner is any indication, they are a lot more entertaining. The new offering from director Daniel Robbins follows a seemingly unlikely candidate in Zack Weiner, who starred in Robbins’ previous movie The Pledge and is running for New York’s Sixth District.

Even in George Washington’s day, having theatrical skills was a bonus. The Father of Country used gestures he learned from watching stage actors to punctuate his speeches. It would also be unfair to criticize him for his youth because Alexander Hamilton wrote his first Federalist essays in his teens. Where Weiner seems to differ from the Founding Fathers is that he’s still living with his mom (hey, homes in the Big Apple are expensive) and that he has no connections or experience.

He has the misfortune of sharing a surname with the disgraced Empire State Congressman Anthony Weiner, who just couldn’t keep his hands off his cell phone and other things. Frankly, his candidacy has a few more pressing issues. A former borough president is easily the favorite in the early polls, and Weiner should consider himself lucky to gain approval from one percent of the electorate.

Surprisingly, Weiner demonstrates just enough gall to keep his campaign going despite negligible financing or meaningful endorsements. A few factually challenged statements convince enough petitioners to get him on the Democratic ballot (it worked for George Santos!), and he tries to combine his campaign with an effort to locate a new kidney for the veteran party activist who printed Weiner’s fliers. The candidate doesn’t quite grasp that conflicts of interest could doom his race before he starts.

“…when asked about Weiner’s platform, staffers say it’s ‘YouTube.’”

At the same time, Weiner and his crew have a gift for getting the campaign attention it wouldn’t ordinarily receive. Because he starred in a film, Weiner can buy ads for the film on kiosks that New Yorkers are guaranteed to see even though they are cheaper than TV spots. They are also forbidden for regular campaign spots.

The lad also has a knack for forming coalitions and teaming up with others to address the issues in his campaign. Weiner tries to make his campaign a proof of concept for what his first term might be like. Teaming with a teen entrepreneur, he finds a solution for empty Manhattan storefronts. Pop-up shops certainly have more curb appeal than boarded windows. That said, when asked about Weiner’s platform, staffers say it’s “YouTube.”

Because Weiner’s chances of making it to the council are so remote, it’s probably a safe bet the campaign has been run strictly for Robbins’ camera. Weiner and campaign manager Joe Gallagher share story credit. Still, as with Sacha Baron Cohen’s movies, the most amusing and revelatory moments come not from the comic protagonists but from the absurd systems they’re documenting. Weiner and his crew discover a seemingly endless way of drawing press attention for such a marginal campaign. Weiner and Gallagher cleverly leak items to reporters who don’t realize the campaign has planted these anonymous tips. They seem a little too eager to take the bait. One wonders if Weiner’s opponents are getting fair or accurate coverage.

The more conventional candidates lack Weiner’s nerdy charm, but they are far more likely to win and have platforms that are a lot more specific than “YouTube.” Robbins and Weiner may be playing for the camera rather than for a seat at the legislative table, but at least they resoundingly prove that politics can be anything but soul-crushing and dull.