Al Franken: God Spoke

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Al Franken: God Spoke

Released Sep 13, 2006

1h 30m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

44%

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10,000+ Ratings

Filmmakers Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus document a year in the life of satirist Al Franken, as he tours to promote his book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" and as he helps lay the groundwork for Air America and campaigns for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. In between, Franken spars with pundits Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter.

Critics Consensus

This documentary traces Franken's transformation from humorist to activist with entertaining, if uneven, results.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

I love Franken and wish there were more funny liberals in the chattering class, but his crushing sarcasm wouldn’t exactly elevate the national debate.

Jun 23, 2022

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Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

This film by Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus forces us to make some decisions about him. For myself, I find him generally gross, in person and in manner.

Oct 26, 2006

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Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

Neither as adroitly funny as Franken's comic routines, nor as notable as his conversion to the fine art of politics, this is a 90-minute 'What If?' with no discernible answer.

Rated: 1.5/5

Oct 8, 2006

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Christopher Campbell

Cinematical

A humorous, but more importantly illustrative, documentary about the weight of the media -- especially the comedic media -- on the last presidential election.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 18, 2007

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Pablo Villaça

Cinema em Cena

A inteligência de Franken é notória, assim como seu pavor à retórica da direita norte-americana %u2013 algo que o filme ilustra de maneira burocrática. Além disso, sua falta de foco leva-o a parecer um mero instrumento de propaganda, o que é lamentável.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 18, 2007

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Kam Williams

EURWeb

This uncritical bio-pic presents Al as more of an intellectual on a mission than a funnyman in search of laughs, leaving one to wonder whether the purpose here was to makeover Al into a political figure for his rumored run for the U.S. Senate.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 27, 2007

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Audience Member

OMG this is old, it was kinda funny when it come out

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

a funny and insightful documentary into the world of the one and only al franken.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Though I'm not a big fan of the man he's become, this film does capture some of the big moments that changed him from comedian to politician. Production quality a bit shoddy, though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Nothing wrong with this one; but it is rather so-what also. I don't really see what this documentary/film does new ... with Franken I know all of this already. While I am a fan of his, I don't see why this needed to be made as it gives us nothing new. I'm not learning anything with this one. There have been better docs and there have been worse docs.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Al is loudly proclaiming his lack of purpose. A fairly useless and self-indulgent film.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

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Audience Member

Essentially a mildly entertaining Al Franken infomercial.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Nick Doob

Director

Chris Hegedus

Director

Rebecca Marshall

Producer

Frazer Pennebaker

Producer

D.A. Pennebaker

Executive Producer

Chris Hegedus

Film Editing

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Synopsis

Filmmakers Nick Doob and Chris Hegedus document a year in the life of satirist Al Franken, as he tours to promote his book "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right" and as he helps lay the groundwork for Air America and campaigns for John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. In between, Franken spars with pundits Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter.

Director: Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus
Producer: Rebecca Marshall, Frazer Pennebaker
Distributor: Balcony
Production Co: Pennebaker-Hegedus Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 2006, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Apr 24, 2007
Box Office (Gross USA): $103.0K
Runtime: 1h 30m