Al Franken: God Spoke (2006)

Directors:

Nick Doob
Chris Hegedus

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Taking back America one laugh at a time.

Plot Keywords:

Politics

Cast

Al Franken	...	Himself
Franni Bryson	...	Herself (as Franni Franken)
Katherine Lanpher	...	Herself
Billy Kimball	...	Himself
Ben Wikler	...	Himself
Tim Bradley	...	Himself - Team Franken
Ayo Griffin	...	Himself - Team Franken
Rob Mackey	...	Himself - Team Franken
Jim Norton	...	Himself - Team Franken
Chris Rosen	...	Himself - Team Franken
Kate Sullivan	...	Herself - Team Franken
Gabrielle Zuckerman	...	Herself - Team Franken
William J. Bennett	...	Himself (as Bill Bennett)
Neal Boortz	...	Himself
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (as President George Bush)
Tucker Carlson	...	Himself
Dick Cheney	...	Himself (as Vice President Dick Cheney)
Hillary Rodham Clinton	...	Herself (as Senator Hillary Clinton)
Evan Cohen	...	Himself
Norm Coleman	...	Himself (as Senator Norm Coleman)
Ann Coulter	...	Herself
John Edwards	...	Himself (as Senator John Edwards)
Matthew Entenza	...	Himself (as Rep. Matthew Entenza)
David Foster	...	Himself
Joe Franken	...	Himself
Phoebe Kunst Franken	...	Herself
Janeane Garofalo	...	Herself
Carl Ginsburg	...	Himself
David Goodfriend	...	Himself
Al Gore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tipper Gore	...	Herself (archive footage)
C. Boyden Gray	...	Himself
Lloyd Grove	...	Himself
Sean Hannity	...	Himself
Karen Hughes	...	Herself
Brit Hume	...	Himself (archive footage)
Molly Ivins	...	Herself (as Molly Ivens)
Robert Kennedy Jr.	...	Himself (as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.)
Bob Kerrey	...	Himself (as Senator Bob Kerrey)
John Kerry	...	Himself (as Senator John Kerry)
Henry Kissinger	...	Himself
Jay Leno	...	Himself
Rush Limbaugh	...	Himself (archive footage)
Michael Medved	...	Himself
Zell Miller	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Senator Zell Miller)
Walter Mondale	...	Himself (as Vice President Walter Mondale)
Michael Moore	...	Himself
Bill O'Reilly	...	Himself
Steve Roberts	...	Himself
Pat Schroeder	...	Herself (as Representative Pat Schroeder)
Charles Schumer	...	Himself (as Senator Chuck Schumer)
Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Himself (as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger)
Mark Shanahan	...	Himself
William Safire	...	Himself
Alan Simpson	...	Himself (as Senator Alan Simpson)
Jon Sinton	...	Himself
Suzy Vasillov	...	Herself
Mark Walsh	...	Himself
Lally Weymouth	...	Herself
Nick Weicker	...	Himself
Paul Wellstone	...	Himself (as Senator Paul Wellstone)
Sheila Wellstone	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Terry McAuliffe	...	Himself
Jon Stewart	...	Himself

Directed by
Nick Doob
Chris Hegedus

Produced by
Wendy Ettinger	....	consulting producer
Nick Fraser	....	executive producer: BBC
Walker Lamond	....	associate producer
Rebecca Marshall	....	producer
D.A. Pennebaker	....	executive producer
Frazer Pennebaker	....	producer

Original Music by
Ed Smart

Film Editing by
Nick Doob
Chris Hegedus

Sound Department
Paul Furedi	....	sound mixer
Nick Foley	....	adr recordist (uncredited)
Ted Swanscott	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Nick Doob	....	camera operator
Chris Hegedus	....	camera operator
Walker Lamond	....	additional camera operator
Rebecca Marshall	....	additional camera operator

Editorial Department
Mike Maguire	....	colorist (as Michael Maguire)
Larry Schmitt	....	on-line editor

Other crew
Nate Allard	....	assistant: Al Franken
Jane Balfour	....	foreign sales
Casey Boyd	....	assistant: Al Franken
Cathy Carapella	....	clearances
Karen Shatzkin	....	legal services

Thanks
Andy Elias	....	thanks
Joe Franken	....	thanks
Owen Franken	....	thanks
Thomasin Franken	....	thanks
Francesca Gage	....	thanks
Maya Handelsman	....	thanks
Michael Harrison	....	thanks
Lisa Johnson	....	thanks
Kit Pennebaker	....	thanks
Adam Pincus	....	thanks
Ellen Ratner	....	thanks
Bingham Ray	....	thanks
David Rose	....	thanks
Nigel Sinclair	....	thanks
Pamela Stewart	....	thanks
Philip M. Strub	....	thanks (as Phil Strub)
Richard Sugarman	....	thanks
Mark Wills	....	thanks
Jeff Zeiger	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Pennebaker Hegedus Films
• Nick Doob Productions
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (in association with)

Distributors

• Balcony Releasing (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Docurama (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Diamond Time  music clearances

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Pennebaker Hegedus Films

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Good movie for Al Franken fans

I've been a fan of Al Franken for years and listen to his radio show, so I quite enjoyed this film that follows him from just before he joined Air America Radio through the 2004 election. Mostly, this documentary simply follows Franken around as he gives various speeches, debates Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity, does his radio show, jokes around with various Republican celebrities, and putzes around at home.

The high moments of the film are seeing Franken debate the opposition: Hannity, O'Reilly, Ann Coulter. Most Franken fans have heard the stories and even some audio of these encounters, but seeing them on film adds something. If there's any letdown, it's that the segments with O'Reilly and Ann Coulter are too short - you want to see more. There are some slower moments in the film but it never quite drags.