A portrait of Cianci in shades of gray
Just in time for his recent prison release, "Buddy: The Rise and Fall of America's Most Notorious Mayor " scrupulously, if dryly, explains how a corruption charge landed Vincent "Buddy" Cianci in Fort Dix for five years. Cherry Arnold's documentary succeeds as journalism. Its many sources are arranged into an array of talking heads who point out what a contradiction Cianci was during the four decades he presided over Providence.
We're told that he oversaw the city's amazing redevelopment, that he never seemed to stop toiling for his constituents, that he resigned from office after pleading no contest to bludgeoning a gentleman Cianci believed was dating his wife. The AM radio talk show, the stint as a television commentator, the marinara sauce ("Mayor's Own"), the surprise second-wind that put him back in city hall for 11 more years, the incriminating black-and-white hidden-camera footage of Cianci's top aide, Frank Corrente , taking a bribe: It's all here. But rarely is it as colorful as Mike Stanton 's book about Cianci, "The Prince of Providence ."
Occasionally, one of Arnold's experts will put the nitty-gritty of Cianci's career in perspective: Welcome to city government. Indeed, Cianci didn't invent municipal corruption. (It's a tradition, right?) But to certain observers, Cianci's ensnarement was especially rich since he ran on an anti-corruption platform. This is all apt. Some of it is astute. But, narrated by James Woods, the film is most interesting when it gets close to Cianci, which isn't often.
Sure, he appears here in front of Arnold's cameras. But what sort of window should we expect him to crack on himself? Likable as some people find him, he's a politician to the end. No, it's in the anecdotal evidence that a portrait of a specific man emerges, not one of any old mayor. Take the tale of Providence's chi-chi University Club , which wasn't universal enough to have Cianci as a member. (His Italian blood might not have been blue enough.) So he allegedly gives the place a hard time when it comes to the city looking for building permits. Another rumored incident of bribery ensues.
Wherever the truth lies in that debacle, it casts a compelling light on Cianci's need to belong. And what of his follicular sensitivities? The movie doesn't really address his toupee, but there it is in one archival clip after another, changing from season to season, like a hat, a scarf, or the weather. Cianci's isn't the only striking hair in the movie (the news anchors: wow). But it seemed to say as much about his character as those corruption charges.
When he emerged from prison last month in a baseball cap, it seemed a definitive change. The prince was without his crown. "Buddy," of course, was finished before that day. But it manages to end on a note of sidelong optimism, citing a poll indicating that 38 percent of Providence residents wouldn't mind having him as their mayor again. He's eligible to run in 2012, when his probation ends.
Wesley Morris can be reached at wmorris@globe.com. For more on movies, go to boston.com/ae/ movies/blog. 
