LOS ANGELES - Monica Lewinsky is back.
Of course, you couldn't do a four-hour documentary on President Bill Clinton without at least mentioning her, but in "Clinton," which airs Monday and Tuesday on PBS, the world's most famous intern dominates the discussion, which strongly suggests that the former president could bring peace to the Middle East, win the Boston Marathon and cure cancer, but still will be best remembered for a White House affair.
The movie, the 15th presidential-themed installment of public TV's prestigious "American Experience," opens with Clinton's 1998 Rose Garden apology ("I gave in to my shame") and never lets go, returning time and time again to the fact that Clinton couldn't keep his zipper closed. (It only takes 9 minutes for narrator Campbell Scott to mention Clinton's first reputed fling, Gennifer Flowers.)
The filmmakers are quick to defend their emphasis on infidelity.
"It provided the lever which his enemies and opponents pulled to try to unseat him from power. That makes it hugely important in the story," said director Barak Goodman, who won an Emmy and a Peabody Award for a 2010 "American Experience" piece on the Vietnam War's My Lai massacre.
The Lewinsky scandal also serves as a vehicle for the documentary's overarching theme: Clinton's subconscious desire to crawl from the wreckage. Journalist Joe Klein puts it best near the top of the film by suggesting Clinton needed to set up barriers to leap over.
Whether Clinton agrees is unknown. Neither he nor his wife was approached to be interviewed for the documentary, which follows a long-standing policy of "Experience" producers.
"That's been a standard of these 15 films" about U.S. presidents, said the series' executive producer, Mark Samels. "We don't want these films to tip into autobiography."
