Oh, the humanity: First, a sex scandal and ignominious resignation. Then, a ratings-killing CNN news program that should have been axed before it aired. Finally, a sarcastic Alex Gibney doc that flits between half-smart conjecture and silliness. Let it not be the deathblow, Eliot!
Oh, the humanity: First, a sex scandal and ignominious resignation. Then, a ratings-killing CNN news program that should have been axed before it aired. Finally, a sarcastic Alex Gibney doc that flits between half-smart conjecture and silliness. Let it not be the deathblow, Eliot!
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer doesn't score the Ashley Dupr interview you desire (nor did the director's Jack Abramoff profile, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, have Jack Abramoff). Instead, we're supposed to be set straight by the revelation that a different escort, "Angelina," was Spitzer's favorite, and here she is---or rather, here's actor Wrenn Schmidt, performing from an interview transcript.
Tiresome as it is to trawl through yesteryear's bedsheets and Post headlines (and do we actually need a rap version of "New York, New York"?), the greater disappointment is Spitzer himself---generous with his time in Gibney's interview, but a firmly evasive presence. The more substantial material, including Spitzer's feuds with vindictive New York politician Joe Bruno and financier Ken Langone, gets short shrift. That's not the way to sell a conspiracy theory involving Spitzer's takedown by corrupt businessmen in his crosshairs. Meanwhile, Gibney rushes past a perfect subject: Republican operative Roger Stone, a sleaze merchant, dirty-trickster and cryptic charmer. He's more this doc's speed.
Watch the trailer