Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Janeane from Des Moines

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
8.8
/
10
1
Votes
Alchetron
8.8
1 Ratings
100
90
81
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Rate This

Rate This

Director
  
Grace Lee

Country
  
United States

8.6/10
IMDb

Duration
  

Language
  
English

Janeane from Des Moines movie poster
Release date
  
September 7, 2012 (2012-09-07) (TIFF)

Writer
  
Grace Lee, Jane Edith Wilson

Clip 3 janeane from des moines janeane and mitt romney


Janeane from Des Moines is a 2012 American political drama film directed by Grace Lee, written by Lee and Jane Edith Wilson, and starring Wilson as a conservative housewife who attends the 2012 Republican Party primary in Iowa. It mixes elements of mockumentary and real-life interviews with Republican politicians conducted in-character without their knowledge.

Contents

Janeane from Des Moines movie scenes A scene from Janeane From Des Moines Credit Wilsilu Pictures

A conservative Iowa housewife's personal and political convictions are severely tested as she seeks answers from the Republican presidential candidates leading up to the 2012 Iowa Caucuses.

Plot

Janeane, a conservative housewife from Iowa, is an undecided voter who wishes to find more information about the Republican Party politicians running for U.S. President in 2012. She attends the Republican Party primary in an effort to find a politician who can offer a solution to the problems she faces. Her situation deteriorates quickly: her husband loses his job and comes out as gay, and she is diagnosed with cancer. These and other issues drive her to question her long-held beliefs and attempt to find a politician who can offer more than sound bites.

Cast

  • Jane Edith Wilson as Janeane
  • Michael Oosterom as Fred
  • Melanie Merkovsky as Lissi

    • Interviews

  • Mitt Romney
  • Newt Gingrich
  • Rick Santorum
  • Michele Bachmann
  • Rick Perry
  • Anita Perry

    • Production

    Lee and Wilson had previously collaborated on American Zombie. Wilson wanted to make a documentary about the Christian left, but Lee decided to make a film that blends documentary and narrative filmmaking techniques. The politicians and media were unaware that Janeane is a fictional character, and some media outlets reported on her story.

    Release

    Janeane from Des Moines premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. It had a limited release in October 2012.

    Reception

    Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote, "Grace Lees film can be billed (or dismissed) as a stunt, but it admirably refuses to go the predictable route of punking the candidates for easy satire or cheap laughs." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "toothless satire" that "fails to make any compelling points." Daniel M. Gold of The New York Times wrote that Wilson has a "rare talent for staying in character". Gold identifies the major theme as "the immense gap between a desperate citizen and the politics she had hoped might help her." Claude Peck of the Star Tribune rated it 2.5/4 stars and wrote, "This cinema demi-verite is a fascinating, discomfiting hybrid of real candidates and a fake constituent, but director Grace Lees own politics and tactics are something of a muddle." Nick McCarthy of Slant Magazine rated it 1.5/4 stars and wrote, "Yet another entry in the canon of pandering pablum that audiences can expect in a presidential election year, Grace Lees Janeane from Des Moines would be an intriguing depiction of personal and political disillusionment if its conceit wasnt so transparent and lopsided."

    References

    Janeane from Des Moines Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA

    Janeane from Des Moines IMDb Janeane from Des Moines themoviedb.org