And it’s not just bluster and jokes - he tears up at grand occasions, including statements on the House floor, press conferences and his own wedding. We're not perfect, but they're nuts” when campaigning for his replacement, Joe Kennedy III, in 2012. He’s constantly quotable, even just in the 90-minute documentary, quipping, “Vote Democratic. The congressman has a national profile because of his bluntness, humor and dogged determination - he would not back down either during questioning in his House subcommittee or during a televised interview. The documentary follows his last days in office: from the first election in decades where he hasn’t been on the ballot, through his marriage - the first same-sex marriage of a sitting Congressperson - and finally to an uneasy retirement, where he still makes calls, argues politics and campaigns for fellow Democrats.įrank is a fantastic subject, because he is (seemingly) unable to be inauthentic. Frank served for 32 years, leaving office in 2013. Frank came out while serving in the House of Representatives, and he managed to weather the homophobia of the era and a minor scandal to keep his seat in his home district of Newton, Taunton and New Bedford in Massachusetts. It’s still an engaging enough documentary for anyone interested in Frank, Congressional politics, or most of all, gay rights in the center of government. But the 90-minute documentary that premieres on Showtime tonight is too sweet and rosy to really be a work of journalism if documentaries are supposed to be investigative, this is the filmic version of a puff piece. It’s welcome cheerleading if you’re a fan of Frank as a politician - and there are times the documentary does some desperately needed truth-telling about the financial crisis of 2008 and the current intractable state of Congress. Frank, who is the subject and source material for the film. It’s enlightening, but rarely serves as more than a rah-rah rally for Rep. As a documentary, “Compared To What: The Improbable Journey Of Barney Frank” is not, frankly, amazing.
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