June 25, 1993 | Comedy, Steve Martin once noted, is not pretty. The makers of Feed, the savagely clever documentary premiering this weekend at the Rice University Media Center, would likely take Martin’s dictum one step further: Comedy isn’t fair, either.
In assembling this free-form crazy-quilt of satellite television “feeds” captured by “video guerrilla” Brian Springer, filmmakers Kevin Rafferty and James Ridgeway have a great deal of fun at the expense of 1992 presidential candidates on the prowl for votes in the New Hampshire primary. That many of their shots are cheap do not make them any less funny.
Much of the material viewed here is “backhaul” — privileged moments before and after speeches or interviews, never intended for home viewing. A typical bit of backhaul has President George Bush, doing his amiable best to hide his mounting impatience, waiting silently in his White House office for word from someone — an interviewer, a technician, anyone — at the other end of his earpiece. Finally, to break the monotony, Bush cracks: “This is the real thing! This isn’t Dana Carvey!”
Bush actually comes off well in Feed, appearing as a genial (if slightly out-of-it) good sport in satellite feeds and campaign stops. In sharp contrast, would-be Republican upstart Pat Buchanan is a barely restrained pit bull, even while trying to charm a precocious Asian youngster before the TV cameras. At one point, an unfriendly caller gets the best of Buchanan during a talk-radio broadcast. Quick cut to a smiling Bush, back home in the White House. The juxtaposition is sophomoric, unfair (well, maybe not if you’re a Bush fan) and laugh-out-loud comical.
The Democrats are an even more bountiful source of easy laughs. There’s Jerry Brown, making foul-mouthed remarks about opponents and newscasters while waiting to be interviewed. And there he is again, worrying about whether his tie looks straight. And there he is one more time, noisily inhaling what sounds like an entire bottle of nasal spray.
Paul Tsongas gets off a nifty jab at Sam Donaldson during a campaign rally. Poor Tom Harkin has to take a more humiliating tack in scrambling for airtime — he introduces TV sportscasts. Still, at least he gets on the air. Bob Kerrey, looking very much like Hannibal Lecter’s younger, glummer brother, spends a long time in the snow waiting for a TV interview that never really comes off.
Bill Clinton is gleefully disgusting when, moments before a live interview, he prepares by letting loose with a thunderously hacking cough. He looks far less happy on campaign jaunts that are intercut with the media feeding frenzy ignited by alleged adulteress Gennifer Flowers. (“Did Clinton use a condom?” a reporter asks during a press conference. Flowers has to try very hard not to smile.) On the other hand, there’s something ineffably noble, even endearing, about Hillary Clinton’s indefatigable efforts to stand by her man while trudging through the snow and glad-handing voters.
Feed makes many trenchant points about the ways candidates transform themselves to appear telegenic. Perhaps the most revealing moment comes when a creepy smart aleck rattles Clinton by asking, “How many abortions have you caused yourself?” Clinton quickly recovers, snaps a reply, and moves on. Before he does, however, there’s just a second when the mask slips. That’s when Clinton appears to be calculating precisely how many percentage points it might cost him in the polls if he were to tear this guy’s head off while the TV cameras were watching.
