In the trailer above, which documents Anthony Weiner’s 2013 New York City mayoral campaign that took place two years after the infamous sexting scandal that ended his Congressional career, there is literally not one boring scene. The two minutes and 38 seconds directors Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg put together represent one of the best trailers I’ve seen in years, and maybe I’m biased as a political junkie, but I cannot f’ing wait for this movie to come out. Seriously, here’s a sampling of what I just watched:
—Weiner on a Citibike, trying to ignore a woman on the street saying things like, “are you somebody I’m supposed to know?”
—Weiner awkwardly air-kissing a baby.
—Weiner on the phone, having to clarify that he’s “that Anthony Weiner…the one running for mayor.”
—Weiner yelling at his advisor in a car.
—His wife, top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, telling the same poor campaign advisor, “just a quick optics thing—you will look happy.”
—Two men outside his car yelling, “show it to me again, Anthony!”
—Weiner, looking shell-shocked, saying, “I can’t believe I gave the press the finger.”
—Weiner in front of his staff: “We’re going to try to look like we’re going to hold together as a group.”
—Weiner practicing an apology by himself, repeating the words, “I am profoundly sorry…”
—A man in a bagel shop calling him a “real scumbag,” at which point Weiner fires back, “takes one to know one, jackass!”
And that’s not even half of it! This film looks absolutely hysterical—a real-life version of Veep, which depicts politics as the frantic circus act it really is. In the shadow of his mistakes, Weiner almost comes off like a comedic hero. Until, of course, you remember that he went through a second sexting scandal during the race (the whole “Carlos Danger” saga), which tanked his candidacy for good. And all of that, too, was captured by the documentarians.
Weiner comes out on May 20, and if I haven’t already made this clear, I have circled that date on my calendar in bold red ink. This is going to be amazing.