Lawrence O'Donnell wasn't condescending. He asked the question everyone wanted answered.
Such a waste, but what a brilliant documentary. I can't believe that Weiner and Abedin allowed the camera to keep running and give them great credit for that.
3
Saw it last night and was surprised to find myself feeling a bit sorry for this talented but (not so severely as others?) flawed man. My boyfriend thought he was just a jerk.
3
A brilliant, effective politician with narcissistic, self-destructive sexual tendencies. So what? At a time when a ranting buffoon is poised to take the presidency, who cares how Weiner gets his kicks?
12
Go to Youtube and search for "Trump Weiner" and you will see the most hilarious Donald Trump riff on Anthony Weiner ever produced.
1
If anyone wonders why Donald Trump can do no wrong by attacking the media all you have to do is watch "Weiner". They are a ravenous pack of wolves. Condescension is taken to a new level by the ever pious Lawrence O'Donnell asking the ultimate impossible question to answer "What is wrong with you?". But it is Weiner's hubris that is a wonder to behold. He is ever confident that by sheer force of personality he can turn an impossible situation around even dragging his immentantely intelligent and decent wife around in his imploding political reputation and the ruins of his career.
2
Fantastic documentary. Whether you like or hate Weiner -- who's fairly frank about his narcissism and poor judgment -- the film is a powerful inside look at the media and how it can determine social and political outcomes. The movie is also, perhaps by accident, an incredible love letter to New York and all the outrageous, flawed and beautiful people and places that make it great.
22
Step One of Alcoholics Anonymous: Admit one's life has become unmanageable. Doesn't matter what the addiction -- including a desire for political power and access within that circle of power. A couple clearly nowhere near willing to take that first step. And so it leads to this, a further public humiliation. Difficult to understand.
2
Excellent documentary, watching it I was actually shocked that Mr. Weiner actually let the filmmakers film such difficult personal moments. (Perhaps it's the same narcissism that caused him to send out "sexts"?) It is not only a great political documentary on a man's narcissism and compulsive behavior, but also on the media's focus on frivolous scandals and people's personal lives rather than the important issues.
9
"The Penis will not be denied" sounds like a Woody Allen homage.
Or Rick Blane's assessment of Captain Renault's character: "he's like any other man, only more so."
Or Rick Blane's assessment of Captain Renault's character: "he's like any other man, only more so."
6
Huma, get out while you can. You are young, beautiful, smart and successful..You don't owe this man anything. What I saw from this documentary is more than addictive and juvenile behavior but intense narcissism. The few times he spoke to you it was with thinly veiled disdain. He is a loser.. Trust me, better to move one while you are still young and can find someone normal..NYT reviewers, stop blaming the media. This guy is a creep.
7
Psychology Today says "Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others... However, most addictive behavior is not related to either physical tolerance or exposure to cues. People compulsively use drugs, gamble, or shop nearly always in reaction to being emotionally stressed, whether or not they have a physical addiction."
Weiner's, Bill Clinton's, and Eliot Spitzer's stories are about addiction.
Weiner's, Bill Clinton's, and Eliot Spitzer's stories are about addiction.
3
Why did Anthony Weiner self-destruct? For the same reason a Rhodes scholar president fooled around with a 22 year old bimbo intern. Despite many of the comments, the movie isn't a tribute to Weiner, but can be viewed as a tribute to New York City.
I saw it today. It's Oscar worthy. Really.
www.newyorkgritty.net
I saw it today. It's Oscar worthy. Really.
www.newyorkgritty.net
16
Who will actually pay to see this "documentary"?
3
I paid to see it today and am so glad i did, although it is incredibly dismaying to see someone a full-throated fighter for people commit career and personal suicide. Despite his obvious narcissism, I could not help but be beguiled and charmed by Weiner and understand why Huma stood by her man even as she probably considered homicide.
10
I paid to see it, and I am glad I did. Very interesting on many front. Not just Weiner's narcissism, but the Shakespearian quality to it, and our media's sick obsession with scandal, and it is....sick!
10
Paid to see it just now and it was money well spent. Brought my daughter for an introduction into Toxic Politics 101. We saw a lot of parallels to Trump.
3
This review, despite being lukewarm at best, is yet another example of the Times' continued focus on despicable characters in order to boost "click-throughs," and therefore ad revenues. By choosing to ignore this film, as well as the one on OJ which is also about a sick man and also in today's edition, the NY Times profits, the readers resist, and dangerously troubled men like Weiner and OJ continue to get their egos stroked.
2
I did not plan to see this documentary, probably for the same reason you want the Times to ignore it, but I saw it today and am very glad I did. It is an excellent movie, exposing how narcissistic and tragically flawed Weiner is. And Weiner "dangerously" troubled? The only danger is to his marriage.
9
A shame he had that flaw. He was a smart, capable and sincere politician. We need more of them.
22
He might be the Donald's pick for VP. They can compare hand sizes and other important issues.
4
One person has substance, the other has small hands.
6
Such a man could only be expected to do weinerish things.
1
Weiner blew his career to bits and it's buried. As a Congressman, he was far above average in smarts and guts. Weiner was a national leader on health care reform and human rights, as smart a public figure as we'll see in the House in this era. There's a lot of overreaction to the foolish behavior of a talented guy. Beset by obvious emotional issues, he's paid the price with a career in ruins. Did someone actually compare Weiner to OJ?
15
Think of his wife....terribly cruel behavior. Do not underestimate how self-centered and brutal this behavior his. He was hurting his family. Creep.
6
I disagree with Holden that it is "a portrait of a marriage in disarray." I found their marriage to be the most redeeming element of the sordid frenzy the documentary depicts. It is a portrait of a marriage, at its most difficult moment, between two very different people who are united, not because of their common occupation, but out of a deep love for each other. Weiner redeems himself in the car, on the way to deliver his concession speech. Abedin has agreed to come stand by his side, in spite of the fact that they are being stalked by his onetime online chat buddy, it would look terrible, is bad for her career, potentially reflects poorly on her boss (Hillary Clinton) and is personally humiliating. She does so because she loves her husband, and loves him unconditionally and realizes that everything else is secondary. Shortly before they arrive at the venue, he tells her to go home and have dinner. He does so because however pervy he acted, he loves and adores her and knows how lucky he his to be married to her. He may be a narcissist, and a showboat, among other flaws, but at the moment it matters most, sparing his wife a public humiliation she is willing to endure for him becomes the priority. He gets that while everything else collapses around him, she is the one thing, the one person who really matters. It's brief and odd but it's actually very romantic.
25
The worst thing about him is that his indiscretions resulted in the election of the corrupt mafioso deBlasio
5
I don't think Weiner would have made a good Mayor. Unlike successful Congressman who became Mayor (LaGuardia, Koch), Weiner didn't know how to make friends and influence people. The whole Democratic Congressional caucus loathed him. They did nothing when his first texting troubles emerged in 2011. How would he have been a powerful advocate for NYC?
The film may be interesting and yet cringe-worthy. I'll wait for it on cable. Not spending my money on this type of film.
5
Weiner is his name. Should he deny it, be ashamed of it, cover it up? It's proud name. A strong name. Not long but pithy, destined to shine.
3
Ugh! Please please please don't pollute our senses with another word or image on this horrible man!!!!
He already fooled too many for too long. Now everyone knows for certain that he has no redeeming qualities that could ever be considered suitable for leadership. Comparatively, he makes PeeWee Herman look like Presidential material.
Please spare us in the future! May he privately find peace, and please just don't tell us about it. He's overdone.
He already fooled too many for too long. Now everyone knows for certain that he has no redeeming qualities that could ever be considered suitable for leadership. Comparatively, he makes PeeWee Herman look like Presidential material.
Please spare us in the future! May he privately find peace, and please just don't tell us about it. He's overdone.
8
PNN, I'm from his district in Brooklyn, he was a great congressman, he really fought for people - Google the way he fought to get 9/11 emergency workers and veterans their benefits. He clearly has some kind of emotional/impulse control problems, but perhaps our country would be a better place if we stopped worrying so much about the personal and sexual lives of our politicians and instead focus on the issues.
E.g., if Mr. Weiner were your stockbroker and he made you a million dollars, would you fire him after you found out about his sexting and instead hire someone else who wasn't as good at their job?
E.g., if Mr. Weiner were your stockbroker and he made you a million dollars, would you fire him after you found out about his sexting and instead hire someone else who wasn't as good at their job?
19
Thank you! His record got lost in the scandal and the media feeding frenzy.
8
Exactly!
Good politicians are hard to find, their sexual tendencies are none of our business.
Good politicians are hard to find, their sexual tendencies are none of our business.
3
Wiener is like any other man with the same passions and neurobiology and anatomy that is compelling reality that cannot be ignored. He, like ALL politicians is a dominant male and like every species dominant males seek partners endlessly to engage in the imperatives of procreation. Neither he nor any other male can suppress this essential feature of our shared heritability. That he was also a fool who sought no help in finding suitable modes of dealing with his humanity is part of his arrogance/narcissism and self destructive conduct. Narcissism imposes the illusion of indestructability. Self defeat is also a feature of grandiosity. We all miss his creative intelligence. He could have risen to the very top. What a shame...what a terrible loss.
12
He has no one to blame but himself, his wife is a fool for staying with him
7
Weiner gravely misjudged when in the House of Representatives.
Back in NY City he did the very same.
Didn't the man know or even suspect how digital communications can work? If not, then he hardly rated the progressive aura he seemed to embrace. A reckless politician won't be one long, especially if he is a digital dope too.
The media cannot resist an unusual story, esp. not a lurid one. Interviewers of lesser ability must come off as scornful, limited as they are by a mind-set more like Roland Freisler's (President of Berlin's Volksgerichtshof in the early 1940s) than with anyone attempting objectivity.
England's late David Frost was abler. He asked factual questions affably then sprang the trap when the victim's own words or inconsistencies boldly underlined the victim's own grave flaws.
The difference is all a matter of ability.
Back in NY City he did the very same.
Didn't the man know or even suspect how digital communications can work? If not, then he hardly rated the progressive aura he seemed to embrace. A reckless politician won't be one long, especially if he is a digital dope too.
The media cannot resist an unusual story, esp. not a lurid one. Interviewers of lesser ability must come off as scornful, limited as they are by a mind-set more like Roland Freisler's (President of Berlin's Volksgerichtshof in the early 1940s) than with anyone attempting objectivity.
England's late David Frost was abler. He asked factual questions affably then sprang the trap when the victim's own words or inconsistencies boldly underlined the victim's own grave flaws.
The difference is all a matter of ability.
4
This documentary is strikingly similar to the OJ documentary also reviewed in The Times. Here are two men afforded the opportunity to be remembered in American history as legends. They were both talented individuals ... but their egos led them down to destructive paths, and in OJ's case taking two people with him. The responsibility for their actions is accountable only to them as they were adults. The blame falls nowhere else. The question at the beginning of this article says it all, "What's wrong with you?"
16
I would not compare Mr. Weiner to OJ Simpson!!! OJ was a violent wife beater who probably murdered his wife and her friend. Mr. Weiner enjoys sending naked pictures of himself over the internet - this is perhaps some kind of sexual compulsion, but come on, he didn't kill anybody!!!
5
Correct!
1
Stupid ending. Mr. Weiner clearly has serious emotional issues shown by his obsessive behaviors. They should not be trivialized as this writer has done.
I really thought that Stephen Holden had more depth than he has demonstrated here.
I really thought that Stephen Holden had more depth than he has demonstrated here.
8
Let's face it, when you live in a country where erectile dysfunction drugs are THE multi-billion dollar product approved and given for free or next to no cost to every man on every insurance plan in the nation (good luck getting free birth control, ladies) - the sad story of Anthony Weiner is de rigueur. And - if you pardon the mixed metaphor - the collective penis and it's endless neediness has gotten out of the barn before we locked the stall door.
The last sentence in this article sums it up perfectly for many, many more than just the fallen Lothario politicos of recent decades. The broken homes, financial devastation and heartbreak for families abandoned by fathers may feel like a stereotype but numbers prove every day that it is all too real. Society used to frown on and exert pressure on men misbehaving badly. Nowadays - unless you are a politician or celebrity, followers of the old sad saw that "the penis wants what it wants" barely registers a collective shrug. And that's not a good thing.
The last sentence in this article sums it up perfectly for many, many more than just the fallen Lothario politicos of recent decades. The broken homes, financial devastation and heartbreak for families abandoned by fathers may feel like a stereotype but numbers prove every day that it is all too real. Society used to frown on and exert pressure on men misbehaving badly. Nowadays - unless you are a politician or celebrity, followers of the old sad saw that "the penis wants what it wants" barely registers a collective shrug. And that's not a good thing.
14
Loved the end paragraph; so pity, so true.
5
'even at the risk of career suicide, the penis will not be denied' Allowed yourself a generalization there, in the time of gender focus. If one has a penis, i believe it should be owned, but it should not own you. Some people like to point out that rape is not about sex but power. Conforming to the requirements of a political career or one in religion, to name two, has produced this kind of high wire adventure before.
10
I don't umderstand why time and money should be wasted on such an insignificant person as Mr. Weiner. He seems to be stuck somewhere around the age of 14 or 15. I don't think that adults behaving like teenagers should merit serious attention (which reminds me of Donald Trump).
24
Power does strange things to people. This is a little like the behavior of banks that knew they were too big to fail. Why not sex? Every other bad behavior is a-okay when you are powerful.
This is not about the penis it is about the ego.
This is not about the penis it is about the ego.
23
Apparently, men have difficulty separating the two.
8
Two Words. Sexual Addiction
12
Wiener 2017. If the country is ready for Trump, well.....why not?
16