Al Franken: God Spoke (2006) User Reviews

Absolutely Nothing New Here

[twilliams76 · 5/10 · 13 July 2011]

While there is nothing wrong with this Al Franken documentary ... it is rather so-what, also. I don't really see what this documentary/film does new ... as with Franken I knew ALL of this already.

People bemoan "lazy journalism" and I guess one could actually bemoan "lazy film-making" with "Al Franken: God Spoke" ... although I am uncertain if that is the case here. The problem here is that there is nothing remarkable or note-worthy. Documentaries used to be about compelling subject matter that were supposed to educate the world; but this one comes out as rather un-inspired.

While I am a fan of Al Franken, I don't see why this needed to be made as it gives us nothing new and I'm also not learning anything new with this one.

There have been better docs and there have been worse docs. To say that it is terrible would be wrong; but it would also be wrong to say this one is highly important and/or necessary. I need to stress how much MORE one will get out of reading Al Franken's books than a random viewer will get out of watching Al Franken: God Spoke.

One MUST be a liberal to enjoy this; but even this liberal was un-impressed with this very-standard documentary. PLEASE ... read Franken's books or you won't be getting much out of this impressive individual (as this does him no justice).

Bill O'Reilly's favorite movie

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 23 December 2015]

God spoke to Al Franken to write a book in response to Ann Coulter, FoxNews and President Bush. He wrote the book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right". It talks about his fight with Bill O'Reilly. He signs onto Air America Radio as a host. This movie follows him as he talks to students, fans and talk about his family. Minnesota Senator Wellstone dies in an accident losing the seat to Republican Norm Coleman. He goes over to Iraq to do USO as Saddam. He follows the 2004 campaign as a radio host and is horrified at the result. In the end, he's considering returning to Minnesota to run against Coleman.

I really love Franken's book. I remember that he's able to dissect the various lies by the right wing media. It's essentially his dissection of the FoxNews bit comparing California and Iraq deaths. The book allows Franken to do that in-depth analysis. It is shocking how widespread these 'mistakes' are and how resistant these guys are to recognizing them. It is willful and deliberate. It is too bad that lies stop mattering in politics.

It plays well in Minnesota

[visgrrl · 8/10 · 22 September 2006]

I have to start this comment by saying that I am a very liberal Minnesotan. I cried when Paul Wellstone died and I teared up when Bush won a second term. That being said, I really liked this film. For a movie about a hard-core liberal, it is amazingly balanced. With clips of Al from his SNL days and jokes made during fund-raising speeches, it was as funny as it was political. It follows Franken during the formation of his radio show on Air American through the '04 election. The only unfortunate part is that the politics seem to play better in downtown Minneapolis than they would in, say, Dallas. Minnesota is a Democratic stronghold and has been for years. Part of the film focuses on Franken's friendship with Paul Wellstone and his dislike of the man who took his Senate seat, Norm Coleman. People from other states may not know these names or how deeply the impact the people of this state. While one (Coleman) used to campaign for the other(Wellstone), they ended up being on opposite ends of the political spectrum by the time that they became competitors. It is insights like this that make some jokes funny and some comments astute. This film does not try to sway the audience, it simply presents the political world from Al's point of view. The passion he displays during his speeches and radio shows is amazing. He is one of the few people that obviously believe in what he is saying with every fiber of his being. Even if you don't believe in what he is saying, you have to respect the force and vigor with which he says it.

Interesting and entertaining film but Franken does not come over as well as he would like and it does play a bit like a campaign promotional

[bob the moo · 26 March 2007]

Opening with the publishing of his book Lying Liars etc, this film follows the liberal spokesman and comedian Al Franken as he sets up a liberal radio station, goes to the Republican convention and considers a run for Senate. Aside from seeing his book in the shops and watching some of his SNL stuff, I don't really know how he fits into the political landscape in the US. I don't think I'm alone in not completely "getting" how the US works in this regard. In the UK we do have media that falls into certain political groups (eg the Daily Mail has always been a Tory paper) but we don't really have anything like the split like they do in the US.

So I wasn't sure how I would cope with a film that very much involves looking at this split and focuses on a man who is very much on the liberal extreme in the same way that others are on the conservative extreme. However I actually found it very easy to follow because there isn't much more to it than us following Franken on the road. Others have said that it feels like a 90 minute campaign advert and they are bang on because if you are a liberal then the film does very much present a passionate man who is fighting his corner. That plus the fact that he has announced his plans to run for Senate suggests that if the film was not done for this reason then it certainly hasn't hurt.

The film is reasonably balanced in so much as it can be. It (the film) doesn't set out after any republicans but of course, by following Franken and giving him the lion's share of time then it was never going to be a documentary that looks evenly at both sides of the argument. I did enjoy the film and found it both interesting and funny but the nature of the politics in it was what rather put me off. Now I accept that this is the US rather than just this film but I still found the rather polarising nature of both Franken and his conservative foils on Fox News etc hard to swallow. Now satirists and comedians do mock and I have no problem with John Stewart's approach to this; however with Franken we see him meeting with these people and engaging in political debate with them and it is not always pretty. At times he simply lays out the lies and spin of the opposition (as indeed he says he does at one point) and he does it well but other times we see him scoring easy points in people's faces and lowering himself to the level of slanging matches with conservative commentators and journalists. I know it is the nature of US politics for this but I do not see his approach being better than theirs – even if I am closer to his political viewpoint than to theirs. He talks about unifying but he seems keener to split and just see who gets the most votes. I have not done a great job of describing this, but it is an unpleasant part of the film because it is depressing to see both ends of the spectrum just fighting rather than debating.

Overall though, an entertaining film. Probably not even worth a look if you are a conservative, because the film belongs to Franken. At times he comes across as clear minded but at other times he is no better than some of those he mocks – this is the bad side of the film but in fairness this aspect is interesting even as it is unfortunate.

I used to think highly of Al Franken

[Stefan-Sommer · 1/10 · 2 February 2008]

I used to think highly of Al Franken before I saw this film. My political orientation is left and I despise the right-wing. In Al Franken: God Spoke, Al Franken and his producers make themselves out to be weak, ineffectual communicators. They make the right wing folks look like they have a focused message, wrong as it might be. There is really only one moment when this film successfully points out the wrongs of the right and that has to do with comparing Iraq with California. The remainder of this film's message is very unfocused and shows the producers and Al Franken to be bumbling idiots who have nothing better to do than follow the republicans around to moan about how wrong they are. With folks like them involved, no wonder Kerry lost! We need some leadership on the left if we ever expect to have a chance of winning. Come on Al Fanken!!! Was your brain on Holiday?

This film is not in keeping with Al Franken's excellent books which exposes the right wing's lies, lack of integrity, and complete lack of any morals whatsoever. This film simply makes Al Franken out to be a bumbling and ineffectual individual. Does Al really endorse this film...?

Good movie for Al Franken fans

[ahallimdb · 8/10 · 11 November 2006]

I've been a fan of Al Franken for years and listen to his radio show, so I quite enjoyed this film that follows him from just before he joined Air America Radio through the 2004 election. Mostly, this documentary simply follows Franken around as he gives various speeches, debates Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, does his radio show, jokes around with various Republican celebrities, and putzes around at home.

The high moments of the film are seeing Franken debate the opposition: Hannity, O'Reilly, Ann Coulter. Most Franken fans have heard the stories and even some audio of these encounters, but seeing them on film adds something. If there's any letdown, it's that the segments with O'Reilly and Ann Coulter are too short - you want to see more. There are some slower moments in the film but it never quite drags.

Telling the truth - Fair & Unbalanced.

[RandyL712 · 9/10 · 12 December 2007]

Al Franken may not be your cup of tea. He may not be your favorite comedian, radio talk show host, or author. His cackle may annoy you. But his obedience to bringing out the truth in important political issues shines through as his most enduring and important trait.

This documentary follows Franken during the last few years and shows the private and public sides - or make that side, because they are virtually interchangeable. What this film demonstrates is that love him or hate him, he's not putting on a show. He is passionate about pointing out the distortions, the misrepresentations, and of course the outright lies that are purported and disseminated by the conservative right-wing segment of the American media.

The film flows smoothly, keeps a good pace, and edits the boring parts out of the political backdrop through which Al constantly presents himself. It never dwells too long on one subject nor drags on with endless monologue - there is simply too much good material that the editors needed to get to.

Franken is, first and foremost, a satirist. He sees the punch line in any situation, and has a tuned comic timing that has served him well, allowing him to surreptitiously get close to his opponents, and deliver criticism with unfazed wit and vigor.

Franken seemingly has no agenda short of exposing deceit and uncovering the truth. I enjoyed this film, and believe it illustrates that Franken is not guided by idiom, or faith, or conspiracy, but by reality and his passion to broadcast it.