Janeane from Des Moines

Filmmaker Grace Lee's Janeane from Des Moines is built around a Borat-type media hoax, although one that is more subtle and is not played for laughs. Janeane Wilson (actually actress/co-writer Jane Edith Wilson) is introduced as a non-caricatured Christian-activist Republican in Iowa, who is unhappy with where the Democrat White House is taking the nation. Prior to the 2012 presidential elections, “Janeane”—in character as a middle-aged Des Moines healthcare worker—attends Tea Party gatherings, faith-based financial seminars, and rallies and speeches given by Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Newt Gingrich. She searches for candidates who aren't "elites" with nothing in common with ordinary folk; meanwhile layoffs, medical-coverage loss, and (gay) infidelity destroy the heroine's fragile "covenant" marriage and home life. A mix of actual news footage (unflattering to the GOP) and invented drama may understandably have some viewers crying foul (where is the mockumentary showing a fervent Democrat suffering under Obama policies?), but the point made here about Washington leaders being detached and distant from downtrodden Americans is a sharp one. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)