Welp. The release of this one feels like a bit of an unceremonious dump: Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid (now streaming on Max), a documentary about famed Democratic political consultant James Carville. The outspoken strategist rose to fame in the ’90s when he spearheaded Bill Clinton’s successful run for the presidency, and most recently was a loud voice calling for Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. This doc originally debuted on the festival circuit in August, followed by a CNN premiere in October, and, um, has anyone noticed if anything notable went down in American politics since then? Right. Now, is anyone interested in a deepish-dive bio of a high-profile Democrat that doesn’t take into account the seismic events of the past two weeks? I have, shall we say, significant doubts. That doesn’t mean director Matt Tyrnauer’s doc doesn’t have value, but it feels a bit inconsequential in this particular moment.
The Gist: Just to be absolutely clear: No, Carville doesn’t address the Orange Guy’s winning the presidency for the second time (and I’m not talking about Garfield). We get a very very brief tacked-on postscript regarding Trump’s Nov. 5 reelection, but no real postmortem from James Carville, which arguably might be more relevant right now than a look back at his life and career, and what he’s been up to in the last couple years. I mean, look at the title of this film: Winning is Everything. Getting Carville’s take on losing? Sounds fascinating. But you’ll have to look elsewhere for that.
But that’s the nature of the beast, I guess, so let’s get into what this documentary is instead of what it isn’t. The title refers to Carville’s most famous of many soundbites: He coined the phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid.” He’s been called the Ragin’ Cajun. He’s a shit-stirrer who spoke out against the “woke” movement and loudly called for Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. He’s always stumped hard and loud for the prospect of change: “James believes that change wins,” his political compatriot George Stephanopoulos says in the film. Others call him a “relentlessly authentic” guy who “talks like a real person” and “tells it like it is.” He’s immediately recognizable with his narrow eyes, bald head and thick Louisiana drawl. He’s 80 now, and we see him throughout the doc in his Virginia and New Orleans homes or in various hotels, wearing well-worn LSU gear and sneakers, his glasses at an odd angle, Zooming in for his podcast or pundit interviews for TV news outlets. In the political bubble, he’s been pretty much everywhere for more than 30 years.
The doc cuts between his past – his upbringing in rural Louisiana, his rise to prominence in the ’80s and ’90s – and his present, where he remains an active commentator in the political sphere via speaking engagements. He was raised in teensy Carville, Louisiana (named after his postmaster grandfather), where he learned “hucksterism” from his encyclopedia-salesman mother and, surrounded by Black Americans, developed compassion for “the other.” He served in the Marines, got a law degree and was a self-described lousy lawyer for a couple years before he began consulting for various Democratic political campaigns, all of them failures. It wasn’t until he was 38 that he connected with Bill Clinton’s campaign, and Carville’s ability to spin the future president’s scandals (infidelity, draft dodging) became some of the election’s signature moments. Carville ended up earning all kinds of fame and glory in the wake of Clinton’s win.
During that campaign, Carville became famous for dating Mary Matalin, who was his political rival, a consultant for George H.W. Bush’s campaign. They’re still married to this day despite one being a dyed-in-the-wool Republican and the other being a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. They were THE power couple in the political blahblahblah arena, and were often propped up on Meet the Press for the novelty of their opposing viewpoints. At one point, their differences on the Iraq War nearly destroyed their marriage, but they stubbornly hung together; now, they happily don’t discuss politics at home, and we see them in candid moments, feeding their dogs and cats and making dinner and doing normal married-couple stuff. They do comment on the other’s politics to the camera, when they’re interviewed alone. Meanwhile, Carville keeps moving moving moving, going on walks in hotel corridors and driving through New Orleans and making call after call after call, living his philosophy of change. One thing the film doesn’t capture him being? Stagnant.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: This could be a companion piece of sorts to Oscar-nominated 1993 doc The War Room (see above), which follows Carville and Stephanopoulos during the Clinton campaign.
Performance Worth Watching: Matalin’s commentary is crucial to better understanding the man – perhaps because she isn’t willing to be just another talking head that blows smoke up Carville’s ass.
Memorable Dialogue: This is the type of unvarnished Carville comment that defines the guy: “I discovered air conditioning and masturbation at the same time in my life. What a wild combo!” he says as he takes the doc crew on a tour of Carville, Louisiana.
Sex and Skin: None.
Our Take: As a critical component of the mid-November, 2024 discussion about politics, Carville is frustratingly irrelevant. Tyrnauer spends significant amounts of time with Carville as he discusses Biden’s up-and-then-down-and-then-derailed campaign, and although Carville wasn’t a key player in the election, his legacy and current commentary still carries weight. The decision not to add at least an addendum about the Democrats’ drubbing makes the film feel incomplete. After spending 99 minutes with Carville, not getting to hear his take is frustrating.
However, as a biography of the man, Carville is a crisply edited, reasonably insightful, light-on-its-feet-entertaining professional-grade conventional documentary. It’s a smooth-flowing blend of talking heads, archival footage and fly-on-the-wall observations forming a reasonably complete and detailed profile. There’s nothing special about the film but its subject and his relationship with Matalin, and the two of them – who capitalized quite handsomely on their unusual marriage in the ’90s – are compelling on screen. The funniest bit? When Carville’s fellow Democrats praised him for being so open-minded, and Matalin got criticized by her political allies: “James got credit for dating me, and I got shit for dating him,” she says. Read into that as you may!
Our Call: In a couple years, Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid will carry more relevance as a pure bio, and that’s why you should STREAM IT. But know that it’s not fully satisfying in this particular moment of national politics.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.