This entry was written by contributor Ben Clark.

D.C. shows its love for politics in many ways, but nothing is quite as wonktastic as waiting in line for a citywide premiere of a documentary about Al Franken. Last Friday I made the trek to the only movie theater in the city that still serves beer for the premiere of God Spoke, sponsored by American Family Voices, to enjoy some Coulter- and Hannity-bashing with inebriated fellow partisans. The film comes from one of the two makers of The War Room, and follows Franken’s transformation from a political comedian and activist into a potential U.S. Senate Candidate in his home state of Minnesota.

Perhaps it was the booze that incited the audience to give Al and the filmmakers a standing ovation as they entered the theater after the screening for a post-movie Q&A. The crowd, made up of Hill suits and Franken fans, included two Aris (Ari “not Melber” Berman of The Nation and Ari Rabin-Havt, Director of Internet Communications for Senator Harry Reid) as well as the founder of the activist blog Calling all Wingnuts (who did this notorious piece of guerilla theater on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes). When pressed to pick a 2008 candidate in the Democratic Primary, Al jokingly chose dark horse and current Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, much to the amusement of the assembled politicos.

The movie was partly a highlight reel of Al Franken’s career as a political humorist — including the famous dust up with Bill O’Reilly that spilled onto the couches of almost every late night show back in May of 2003. But the film was also a fleshing-out of Al’s celebrity persona. There were scenes with his wife and monologues were he spoke about his father’s life, and why he would consider giving up a successful career in comedy for the Senate. Perhaps this film is meant not only as a chance for fans to enjoy the comedian, but also as a means of setting the stage for Franken’s future political endeavors, a la (debatably) Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. It’ll be interesting to see whether Franken can make the transition from celebrity to credible politician — relative though that term may be.

Image by Flickr user Laertes. And yes, this is apparently the most flattering Creative Commons photo of Al Franken on the internet.