Educational Media Reviews Online

This mockumentary follows Janeane, a tea partying, God-fearing, supposedly lifelong resident of Des Moines, Iowa, as she “seeks the right person to get behind” for the 2012 presidential election. We experience a direct interview with Janeane’s husband Fred. We watch a scene from her Bible study session in which it is clear that Janeane doesn’t know the words to “Jesus Loves Me.” We drive by Planned Parenthood with Janeane, who expresses her disgust at the organization and her perception of its mission. We hear Janeane gush with obvious pride about her lovely middle-class home. As the election grows closer, Janeane’s fortunes darken; Fred loses his job and comes out as gay, she is diagnosed with breast cancer but has lost her health insurance and is forced to seek treatment at Planned Parenthood, and the bank threatens to take her home. But none of it is real, because Janeane is really an actress named Jane Edith Wilson. The former stand-up comedian gives a convincing performance of a radical voter whose luck runs out to the point that she starts to question her beliefs – so convincing that she fooled most of the major Republican contenders and news outlets like the Des Moines Register and ABC, who aired footage of “Janeane” being hugged and counseled by Mitt Romney.

With its coverage of State Fair deep-fried butter, Butter Cow, and parades with mostly military bands, the film is as much about Iowa as it is about a fake Iowa voter. Footage from the Straw Poll in Ames includes visits to booths like the Values Bus (which promotes family, marriage, and traditional values) and speeches from Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Michelle Bachmann. Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad also appear in the film. “Janeane” has a solid 10-minute conversation over coffee with Michelle Bachmann and Iowa representative Steve King, and afterward the actress was interviewed by legit news outlets. “Janeane’s” faith, her traditional heterosexual marriage, and her dream house could not save her job, her husband’s job, her marriage, her house, or her health. And neither could the candidates, as not one of them offered her a comprehendible solution to her health care questions. The actor’s woes weren’t real, but she was able to talk to several candidates who thought they were addressing a real question – one by one, they let her down. Janeane wasn’t real, but she sure could have been, and I bet that’s the message that many viewers will get out of this film. Recommended for academic library collections that support courses in film studies and politics and government.