Mary Wharton's entertaining Documentary on the 39th President is certainly the first Presidential bio-pic that takes a music approach to its subject. Carter's election is usually framed around his famous "I will not lie" slogan as a response to Watergate, but, Wharton shows that another part of his appeal was to a younger generation through his open admiration of popular music.
All previous Presidents during the rock era never had any real attachment to modern music. Even the youthful JFK wasn't much different musically from Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford and LBJ, even if he had a performance of Chubby Checker's The Twist in the White House (it would have been interesting to see how Kennedy would have reacted to The Beatles). Carter was clearly different from the outset as he used old friends like Willie Nelson and the Allman Brothers not just as signals that he was 'hip' - but, even employed them as fund raisers at concerts. He also had a habit of quoting lyrics in his speeches and press interviews. Carter's southern roots showed not just in his rock taste (he also palled around with Marshall Tucker, Johnny Cash, Charlie Daniels and others), but also his appreciation of folk, country and jazz.
Wharton has collected an impressive collection of clips to illustrate her doc (and, in the correct aspect ratio!). One amusing segment shows Jerry Brown swooping into Maryland as part of a last ditch effort by more progressive democrats to "stop Carter" from getting the nomination. Briefly, it became a battle of the bands with Brown lugging along The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt while Carter and his southern brigade continued its march towards the White House. A startling clip from Carter's Inauguration gala has Mr. Republican, John Wayne, wishing Carter good luck from the "loyal opposition" - can one imagine such a thing today??
Jimmy Carter is front and center in interviews conducted in 2018 (he is noticeably more vibrant here than in some of his recent public appearances). He tells his story warmly and well. Wharton also gathered some terrific interview guests including Nelson, Paul Simon, Jimmy Buffett, Nile Rogers, Garth Brooks and, in a real coup, extended original footage with the usually circumspect Bob Dylan.
When the Doc ventures into politics, it's a bit less steady. Details are often sketchy as if Wharton just assumed that viewers would be familiar with the events from over 40 years ago. One could say that there's something to be said for knowing one's target audience, but, as political history, its lacking. The Doc also never really does a great job of showing how a new generation reacted to Carter's appeal to youth via Saturday Night Live, movies and even his notorious Playboy interview (which is never mentioned). Fortunately, Carter's personal journey is well detailed making up for those weaknesses. Carter may not truly be "Rock & Roll", but his embrace of all kinds of music certainly did help create the humanitarian spirit and soul of the man.
