Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job

Graff bookends the story with revelations from Weinberg’s personal life that show the woman behind the fight. It was nice to meet her, especially since there is too much of a notion that family life must be sacrificed for the greater good of someone somewhere. That is not the case here. Also, Irwin got it right with “people forget.” Politics is like the weather; it is of great importance at the time, but it is hard to motivate people to return to the past. It has been around a decade since the traffic cones choking the bridge went up, and things have gone round the pretzel several times since.

As a raised-on-Doonesbury political junkie, I was slammed by all the reminders of Christie’s former stature on the national stage as a Republican Party superstar. Yup, interesting how that tit bounced, isn’t it?

“…a very slick pitch with more good points than a well-sharpened porcupine.”

So how is Graff to interest those not addicted to civics in the documentary? Graff used her experience in Hollywood as a producer to create a streamlined superexpress of red-hot modern history. The pacing is brisk to the point of being as relentless as Weinberg herself. The editing techniques used by Gail Yasunaga to keep your attention riveted are deployed diligently without drawing attention to themselves.

In other words, this is a very slick pitch with more good points than a well-sharpened porcupine. Graff makes us care enough about her mother the way her mother made people care enough to vote for her through a vigorous and well-spoken fight for what is right. Graff is able to make us understand how swept up her mother was when only selective taxpayers in New Jersey were getting the benefits everyone who pays taxes should be getting.

This is also the rare chance for the viewer to see what old-time public corruption looked like, with all of its sophistication executed behind the scenes but within the lines. It is almost quaint compared to the lumbering calamities today associated with denial that there are any lines at all. Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job is a blast from the recent past that has more than enough rocket power to get you there and back. It also has a heartbeat that could level a Fort Lee city block. Well worthwhile.