Thomas Frank’s fascinating book “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” spent 18 weeks on the New York Times’ bestseller list.

The film version makes for an interesting, if not altogether successful film documentary.

So, why do Kansans vote against their own financial self-interest? According to Frank, most Kansans believe that family values (right to life, school prayer, no same sex marriage, etc.) are far more important than any economic concerns.

The Republican Party has successfully co-opted these core “moral” issues.

In Frank’s view, however, the conservative politicians never manages to do anything about these matters of morality while implementing policies that hurt average Kansans and benefit the wealthy.

To illustrate this point, filmmakers Joe Winston (“The Burning Man Festival”) and Laura Cohen relegate Frank to a very small role in the film. They’ve chosen to instead concentrate on a handful of average Kansans.

Eschewing any narration, Winston and Cohen allow the folks to tell their own stories.
One is Angel Dillard, a conservative Christian who is an active Right to Life campaigner. We see her working on her farm, singing gospel music and tending to her husband and young daughters.

We eventually learn about her abusive first marriage and the trying birth defect that inflicted her first child, a boy, who died at age 13.

Another principal character is Brittany Barden, another politically active conservative Christian, a teenager who has been home schooled and is looking for the right college to attend. She wants to go to a school where the liberal elite doesn’t have a foothold.

Donn Teske is a populist, the head of the Kansas Farmer’s Union. He sees the writing on the wall. His family farm probably will not survive given the current economic realities. Family farms, he fears, are dinosaurs.

Terry Fox is a pastor at the church that both Brittany and Angel attend. At one point, he’s ousted from the pulpit for his conservative political activism. He and his breakaway flock set up worship services in a soon-to-open amusement park called “Wild West World.”

Soon, the shady park (a crooked investment scheme?) goes belly up and his followers wind up worshiping at a motel.

The weakness of “What’s the Matter With Kansas” is that it seems unfocused. It tends to drift aimlessly from story to story. Plus, the camera seems to linger endlessly on many shots that should have been judiciously edited.

The film’s strength is that it gives its characters the opportunity to tell their own story without judgment or commentary.

In fact, one shouldn’t be too surprised if the far Right claims the film as its own. (No MPAA rating) Rating: ***

* Avoid at all costs
** Only if you're bored
*** Good movie
**** Well worth your time
***** Be sure to see it