Once upon a time there was a kid in Minnesota named Al Franken who loved comedy and high school wrestling. By the time he was in his 20s, he was a prime player in a comedy revolution as one of the original writers (and a sometime performer) on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” a comedy show heavy on irony and irreverence that represented the Baby Boomers transitioning comedy away from its early, vaudeville-based, one-liner roots. Franken did later movies, comedy concerts…but he became increasingly concerned about politics once the Bush administration took power. And increasingly outspoken.
So he started participating in a new form of wrestling — that late 20th century, early 21st century verbal wrestling called politics (something that appeared in a far different form in the mid-20th century). He took a high-profile blast at the biggest radio talker of them all in a book with an unforgettable name that became a best seller. “Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot” was a phrase that topped best-seller lists for months.
Then he wrote a book that aroused the wrath of Fox News’ talk powerhouse Bill O’Reilly,who had a highly publicized confrontation with Franken. Fox News sued Franken due to his using “their” phrase “fair and balanced” in his book title (many believe at O’Reilly’s encouragement), the network’s lawyers were laughed out of court and Franken’s SECOND book was a massive hit. It also propelled him onto yet another new career as a radio talk show host, calling his show (at first) The O’Franken Factor (a parody of you-know-who’s show title).
He then became a full time professional political wrestler: he became the big name talent on the new progressive Air America talk show network that has struggled since its inception but still is on the airwaves.
And now Al Franken is the subject of a fascinating cinema verite film God Spoke (website with previews is HERE) by the team that created the highly popular and critically acclaimed 1993 film documentary about the Clinton presidential campaign, The War Room. God Spoke is now in some selected theaters and more theaters will be rapidly added nationwide starting Sept. 29th.
If you read God Spoke’s reviews so far, a key underlying question becomes:
Do you have to like or even partly agree with Al Franken to enjoy “God Spoke?”
Our answer? NO.
God Spoke is a fascinating glimpse into a two-year period that transformed Franken into what he is today — someone considering whether to run for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Minnesota and still one of the highest profile names in the financially troubled progressive talk radio genre.
The fast-moving film opens with the picture you see above — of a Moses-like Franken solemnly declaring how God Spoke to put him on his mission…which is basically to counter conservatives, in particular the Bush administration and conservative talk radio’s bigwigs.
It quickly shifts to show him at a book signing and then to his (in)famous CSPAN covered confrontation at a public event with Bill O’Reilly who seethes as Franken explains to the crowd why O’Reilly is on the cover of Franken’s new book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. Then you get to see O’Reilly’s famous explosion ending in “SHADDAP! SHAD-DUP!!!!” which some say launched Franken’s career nationally (and if he ever does get to the Senate he should send O’Reilly a thank you note for starting him on the path there).
Filmmakers Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus follow the controversial satirist around from his USO tour entertaining troops in Iraq (something Ann Coulter dismisses with a sarcastic remark), to his talks to crowds of young people, to his hope-filled debut on now-ailing Air America, to his heart-felt talks to citizens…and to the 2004 Presidential campaign when he (and many progressives)felt certain Democrat John Kerry had it sewn up.
The film shows his political and personal affection for Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone, who died in an airplane crash days before the 2002 mid-term elections (and who was replaced by voters by Republican Norm Coleman, who Franken calls “a suit”). That seemed to spur Franken on even more and you get glimpses of him out on the hustings in 2004, trying to get people out to vote. By the time the election rolls around, he’s almost giddy about the upcoming change in Washington come election day. Even early on election night he’s sure…
Then, you can feel the knot in Franken’s stomach as he begins realizing his expectations that Bush would lose were wrong. And you see a shattered Franken…eventually rising again…and ready to go into political battle once more.
Perhaps the most fascinating parts shows face-to-face meetings with top conservatives (Ann Coulter, William Safire), Bush administration officials (Bush’s close advisor and political alter ego Karen Hughes), Republican politicians (former Senator Allan Simpson) and conservative talkers.
Franken confronts. He goes right up to those he believes are spreading inaccuracies, face to face, and asks a blunt question or dices it with a heavy dose of snark. To some (on the right) he’s a guy with problems; to others (on the left) a guy with guts.
The most riveting scene is where he directly meets some conservative talkers. Conservative talker Neil Boortz has utter, unadulterated contempt for Franken. Sean Hannity talks with Franken on Franken’s show and the underlying friction and personal dislike they feel towards each other is so intense you can virtually taste the bile.
But that confrontation underscores why even people who don’t like Franken (including Hannity or Limbaugh fans) will find God Spoke of huge interest.
If you’re a liberal or independent sympathetic to Franken, you think he “wins” the exchange with Hannity. If you’re a conservative or independent sympathetic to Hannity you could easily perceive it as Hannity winning the argument. But all viewers in mega-polarized America will enjoy how the cinema camera takes you behind the scenes into a world where you see familiar politicos and talking heads when the TV lights and radio mikes are not on. And guess what? It seems they’re not too far from their public personas.
Yet, God Spoke is more than a flick about celebrity in 21st century America, or that weird new political type — the talking head who spends much of his day demonizing people on the other side, getting paid for it, doing books and getting fat speaking fees (a description that could be applied to all top talk show hosts on both sides). God Spoke gets you close to a key talker to sense his “mission,” understand his political hopes and see who — and how — he interacts with members of the public, his spouse, and political and other broadcast elites.
And, in the end, Franken remains perhaps less a comedian and snark-artist than a verbal political wrestler. He explains:
I take what they [conservatives] say and use it against them. What I do is jujitsu. They say something ridiculous and I subject them to scorn and ridicule. That’s my job.”
In a sense his comment underscores a structural weaknesses of Air America itself.
Being reactive — the anti-Bush or the anti-conservative — will definitely attract part of the public but to expand and survive, it needs to attract and keep listeners who aren’t already part of its political choir and a broadcast product that has intrinsic informational and entertainment value. Just being there to answer conservative talk is not enough.
But there’s PLENTY of intrinsic value in God Spoke. (Indeed: conservatives will feel it’s worth the price of admission just to see how shocked and shattered Franken is when his the John Kerry victory he assumed was going to happen didn’t.)
In the end, you watch it and when it’s over think: he could run for Senate in 2008, given the way young people are absolutely riveted when the film shows Franken speak. He could very well pull it off… With a little help from you-know-who above….
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: You can get books by and writing about Al Franken here. You can watch his work in comedy by getting his DVDs here.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.