Slamdance 2024 Film Festival – Too often, politics is divisive, especially as we head straight into a consequential presidential election season. Citizen Weiner, however, proves that not only can politics be fun, but anyone can run for local office. More importantly, even if you lose the race, you can still make a heck of a difference in the community.

Directed by Daniel Robbins, the film stars professional actor Zack Weiner, who did actually run for a New York City Council seat in 2021 and also came in last for his ward during the Democratic Primary. His run for office was an experiment of sorts after film productions shut down during COVID.  While this documentary, or whatever you may want to label it, has plenty of laughs, there’s also something to be said for the fact someone in their early 20s ran for office in the country’s biggest city, mind you, proving that maybe it’s not as hard as it looks. It’s tough to say if Weiner actually wanted to win the seat. For instance, during Election Day, he didn’t go out and actually talk to voters, but during the process he showed that even if you come up short, you can still do good in your community.

Through the 90 minutes, viewers also meet various members of Weiner’s campaign staff, including his campaign manager, Joe Gallagher, who co-wrote the film with the candidate, Finance Minister James D. Watson, and Communications Director Sarah Coffey, whose previous PR experience mostly involved Tik Tok videos. Yes, indeed, Weiner assembled quite the ragtag group of people to run his campaign. It’s another sign that he mostly wanted to have fun and never actually planned to win the seat. There’s also some hilarious commentary from his mom, Cherie Vogelstein. Whenever any of these folks are in front of the camera, it’s difficult to ascertain what’s real and what’s a spoof, including a sex video that comes out showing Weiner submitting to a dominatrix. This video ended up all over the internet and garnered attention from The New York Post and Stephen Colbert, but as they say, all PR is good PR.

Despite all of the laughs, and there’s plenty, there’s an important message at the heart of this film. It does a good job documenting the nuts and bolts of running in a local election, including going door to door, talking to people in the neighborhood, and getting enough signatures to appear on the ballot. The fact Weiner did this with such a slim, and I mean very slim campaign staff, proves that it’s not as tough as it seems with a little effort. More importantly, even though he lost, Weiner made a difference in the neighborhood, including using remaining campaign funds to give out free ice cream to the neighborhood and partnering with a young Black entrepreneur.

Citizen Weiner is the type of film we need during what’s likely to be a brutal and ugly election season. While the film plays up the jokes, it also reminds us that all politics is local, and politics should be about making a difference in your community. As entertaining as this documentary is, it’s not without something to say, while having a blast doing it.

8 Out of 10