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In 1997, White House intern Monica Lewinsky told her confidant, Linda Tripp, about the blue Gap dress that bore the stain of President Bill Clinton’s semen. A year later, the recovery of that dress led to a nationwide scandal and one of the reasons the Bill and Hillary duo became attributed with the words “corrupt” and “untrustworthy.”
The documentary “Clinton, Inc.” offers a twofold view of the Clintons, the scandals and their power, which allows audiences to make their own decisions about the family. By the time the movie concludes, you’re not supposed to simply think, “The Clintons are powerful” or “The Clintons are liars.” Instead, you’re meant to wonder and come to terms with how you personally feel about their love, their character, their history and how their influence affects your own life.
One of the major themes of “Clinton, Inc.,” a documentary based on Daniel Halper’s New York Times bestselling book of the same name, is that being a political machine is messy: there is corruption, greed, strategy and, most importantly, love.
In order to prove this from a bipartisan lens, the writer and director Bill Baber’s tactic is simple. It chronologically follows Bill and Hillary Clinton’s lives, marriage and careers. But instead of simply forcing viewers to listen to a retelling of the family’s history, they are also forced to confront the couple’s humanity. Throughout the movie, a cast of esteemed experts, including close friends, psychologists, biographers and commentators from different parts of the political spectrum, offer their explanations of the give and take dynamic between Bill and Hillary.
“Clinton, Inc.” begins by establishing the inarguable fact that the Clintons’ relationship is built on love and necessity. Within the first 15 minutes, viewers have already listened to how Hillary’s simplicity and tenacity attracted Bill and how Hillary, on the other hand, adored Bill’s charm and intellect. And according to the experts, the saying “opposites attract” couldn’t be truer with this couple. The movie makes a clear point that the power that Bill and Hillary have as individuals and as a duo would not exist without the other half. While Bill Clinton is charming and empathetic, Hillary Clinton achieves her goals through hard work, strategy and planning. Wherever Bill falls short, Hillary fills the gaps and vice versa.
With this story and analysis, viewers are not only given a deeper understanding of how the Clinton partnership came to fruition, they are also pushed to humanize them as people with a love story they probably recognize, one that is built on teamwork.
However, although “Clinton, Inc.” presents the couple in a soft, humanizing light, the documentary is also incredibly frank about the couple’s downfalls. Almost immediately after talking about the Clintons’ love for each other, the movie shifts to the numerous affairs Bill had, especially the ones with Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky.
And in order to prove the documentary’s neutral ground, experts are shown reflecting their negative thoughts about the sexual affairs that followed Bill’s presidency. In response to the scenes of Bill lying about his sexual relationships, Dick Morris, one of Bill and Hillary’s close confidants, says, “I told Bill not to lie. They’ll forgive adultery but not perjury. It was Hillary who said [he needed to] deny it.”
The narrative then continues by deeply examining the numerous other scandals associated with the power couple. Experts and psychologists chime in and offer their opinions about the initiation of Bill’s impeachment, the controversial pardon of Denise and Mark Rich, Bill’s six-figure speeches and Hillary’s private email accounts. Throughout the remainder of the movie, audiences hear comments about the corruption, the lying and how, as Steve Pomerantz, retired assistant director of the FBI, says, “[The Clintons’ actions were a] slap in the face against the whole concept of justice in this country.”
By the end of the movie, viewers have heard a diverse collection of stories and perspectives about the Clintons, the empire they have built and the road they took to get there. With this documentary, audiences get to hear different sides of a familiar story, and that’s what makes “Clinton, Inc.” so valuable. As a viewer, you’re not pushed towards a specific opinion of the Clinton family; rather, you’re pushed to simply engage. Thus, “Clinton, Inc.” is a must-see for people who like, who dislike or who know nothing at all about Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“Clinton, Inc.” is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, including sexual material. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes.
