There was no missing Beto O'Rourke at the SXSW premiere on Watch Good Boys Use Condoms (1998)Saturday of Running with Beto, the documentary about his 2018 Senate campaign.
Even if you'd somehow overlooked all the reports that he'd be at the festival, and ignored all the chatter in lines outside the theater, it was simply impossible not to notice the excited murmuring among audience members – many of them clad in Beto O'Rourke t-shirts – when he made his way down the aisle of Austin's Paramount Theater to take his seat.
But before we could watch him take the stage, we had a movie to watch.
SEE ALSO: The bumpiest social media moments of the 2020 campaign so farRunning with Beto, directed by David Modigliani, takes a behind-the-scenes look at O'Rourke's campaign in the 12 months leading up to Election Day. Zipping back and forth across Texas, it chronicles his quest to visit all 254 counties, his unorthodox-for-government social media strategy, and his meteoric rise from little-known congressman to national obsession.
Naturally, O'Rourke is the star at the center of this movie, and he comes across well enough. Maybe a little too well: Even a handful of less flattering moments (like one in which O'Rourke snipes at deputy campaign manager Cynthia Cano about how crowded his schedule has become) can't stop Running with Betofrom feeling, at times, like a feature-length campaign promo.
Beto O'Rourke, the film and its rapturous SXSW reception make clear, is just getting started.
More interesting are scenes of the people in his orbit, including voter registration specialist Amanda Salas, gun control activist (and now Houston City Council candidate) Marcel McClinton, and campaign manager David Wysong.
Most delightful of these is Shannon Gay, a cheerfully foul-mouthed campaign volunteer. ("What is it about these arrogant fuckwits that they think they can make these decisions?" she says of Texas senator Ted Cruz, in explaining why she supports O'Rourke's run against him.) She brings color and quotable lines to the film, but most importantly, she offers its best look at what O'Rourke has come to mean to his supporter.
Running with Beto's thesis could be summed up as, "Isn't this guy great?" Those already in the tank for O'Rourke will surely appreciate this summary of how much he's accomplished, and how bright his future looks still; those against him will probably remain against him. Modigliani does a better job of capturing the passion O'Rourke's followers feel for him than he does the initial spark that ignited it.
But oh, what a passion it is. After the screening, the filmmakers and subjects finally walked onstage, O'Rourke to a standing ovation from the crowd, for a Q&A. Many of the questions began with emotional appreciations and thank yous, but the question that got the most dramatic reaction was – no surprise – "When are you going to announce your presidential campaign?"
Although O'Rourke offered a noncommittal response, the audience made clear exactly what they thought of this possibility, with loud claps and cheers.
Running with Betoconcludes, necessarily, with his defeat last November, and that can't help but come across as a bit of a buzzkill after nearly an hour and half of fiery optimism and upward momentum. But it only feels like an ending if you haven't been paying attention. O'Rourke, the film and its rapturous SXSW reception make clear, is just getting started.
Topics Politics
AMD Radeon RX 550 + Intel Pentium G4560
'Deep Sea' review: One terrifying detail nearly sinks this stunning underwater odyssey
Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for June 10
Edith Wharton by Design by Jason Diamond
Camera lenses literally melted during the solar eclipse
In Memoriam: Harvey Shapiro, 1924–2013 by Sadie Stein
Revel Yell by Sadie Stein
Hilarious Pennsylvania memes flood Twitter after Biden takes lead
How to Merge and Remove Duplicate Contacts in Android
Carol Summers, Untitled, 1967 by The Paris Review
Adrien Brody wins Best Actor for 'The Brutalist' at the 2025 Oscars
The Hatchet Falls by Sadie Stein
Reddit blackout: What's happening and why
On the Occasion of her 151st by Sadie Stein
The Best Tech Deals and Discounts for Students
On the Occasion of her 151st by Sadie Stein
Climate activist Greta Thunberg participates in her last school strike
A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Sadie Stein
Episode 4: The Wave of the Future
Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for June 12
If You See SomethingThomas Berger, 1924–2014Google dedicates its Doodle to getting people Covid vaccinesThe Morning News Roundup for July 29, 2014The Morning News Roundup for July 17, 2014Elon Musk's army of inactive followers paints a bleak picture of X as a wholeLocal BusinessTo Be Enjoyed by Dan PiepenbringBest speaker deal: JBL Boombox 3 on sale for 20% off at AmazonThe Greatest Artist in the Whole Wide WorldThe Morning News Roundup for July 14, 2014Oh nothing, just Eurovision winner Lordi casually getting the COVIDFirst Russian moon mission in decades ends in lunar crash'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for August 22, 2023First Russian moon mission in decades ends in lunar crashRita Dove’s “Canary” by Chantal McStayPresident Biden enlists @dudewithsign to encourage vaccinationGoogle dedicates its Doodle to getting people Covid vaccines'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for August 21, 2023Blue True Dream of Sky by Sadie Stein Ground Down by Michael Croley 20/20 by Sadie Stein What Reader Species Are You? Wretched Writing, and Other News by Sadie Stein What We’re Loving: Oology, Impostors, Sweden by The Paris Review To Be or Not To Be? And Other News by Sadie Stein William Faulkner, a Fine Gentleman by Sadie Stein Elements of Style, Live by Sadie Stein A Table of Remarkable Æras and Events by Sadie Stein In Case You Missed It... by Sadie Stein What We’re Doing: Necessary Errors at McNally Jackson by Sadie Stein War of the Words Too Hot, Too Greedy by Sadie Stein Under Cover by Sadie Stein Hollywood Indian by Katie Ryder Catflexing: The Catlover’s Guide to Weight Training Aerobics and Stretching by Sadie Stein The Golden Age of Soviet Children’s Art by Justin Alvarez The Mysterious Book Sculptor of Edinburgh Strikes Again, and Other News by Sadie Stein Sex on the Beach by M.J. Moore The Immortality Chronicles: Part One by Adam Leith Gollner
1.2643s , 8228.734375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Good Boys Use Condoms (1998)】,Prosperous Times Information Network