Al Franken: God Spoke

In God Spoke, Franken's unpretentious Midwestern folksiness masks a fierce combativeness and gift for provocation. In scene after scene, he throws himself into the kind of emotionally charged conflicts most people go out of their way to avoid. For instance, he's so apoplectic in his confrontation with Michael Medved that even people who find Medved's reactionary politics repellent—a demographic that includes pretty much anyone watching an admiring documentary about Al Franken—are liable to feel sorry for Medved all the same. God Spoke follows Franken from his legendary dust-up with Bill O'Reilly through the rocky launch of Air America and his increasing immersion in Minnesota politics.

Hedegus—the wife and longtime collaborator of seminal documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, who executive-produces—captured lightning in a bottle with zeitgeist-friendly masterpieces like 1993's The War Room and 2001's Startup.com, but she's less fortunate here, and the launch of Air America was covered more memorably in the HBO doc Left Of The Dial. A fascinating combination of class clown and fact-happy debate-club president, Franken nonetheless makes for a compelling subject, but God Spoke veers uncomfortably into hagiography, especially as it winds down. The film ends with Franken contemplating a run for U.S. Senate, but it's clear that his political campaign began long ago.