Being Mary Tyler Moore

I still watch reruns of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" religiously, and they feel as fresh today as they did back then thanks to her. I remember how disappointed I was when she lost the Oscar for "Ordinary People" to a deserving Sissy Spacek. Yes, I've been a fan of hers since my early childhood, and even six years after her death, this 2023 documentary does a compelling job in revealing a genuinely talented woman who was deeply guarded but still unafraid to expose her personal growth to the world. Starting with a 1966 interview where she showed poise and intelligence to a misogynistic David Susskind, director James Adolphus effectively blends archival footage, home movies and stills (provided by her third husband Robert Levine, one of the film's producers), and of course, clips from her TV and movie appearances to present a more objective portrayal than a fan would allow. Yet, fans will see revealing moments around the deaths in her immediate family (her only son by gunshot, her sister by drug overdose), her relentless fight against juvenile diabetes, and even a roast from Betty White at her bridal shower. Only the audio of interview clips with friends and celebrities is used, a disappointing decision to me. Many clips are shown without explanation, but fans like me know where they come from.

I grew up watching "The Dick Van Dyke Show", so I was exposed to the talents of Mary Tyler Moore at a young age. At the time, I perceived that she was lovable, funny, and somewhat innocent. After watching this documentary, I think those descriptors are accurate.

This biopic provides insights into MTM's point of view throughout her career. It also tries to define her place in (mostly) TV history, as society was redefining itself in the 1960s. To that end, the documentary includes numerous quotes from notable feminists of that era, primarily to skewer her Laura Petrie role as a bad influence. This raises a couple of questions.

First, was the "Dick Van Dyke Show"---and its characters----a reflection of the changing times or a cause of change? Probably both, but primarily the former.

Secondly, if the Laura Petrie role is iconic, is it due to MTM or the producers, directors and writers of the show who defined the role and gave it life through the scripts? I can admire MTM as a person and actor without trying to make her a social icon. As we learn from the documentary, the public really knew little about MTM, the woman, at the time.

The film does illustrate how dramatically MTM evolved and became more self-actualized as she dealt with career challenges, personal tragedies, and relationship issues. It is easy to feel sympathy for her, because she always maintained a sense of humor and she always tried to improve, professionally and personally.

This might not be a very objective overview of her life, but it is enjoyable.

I was one of those kids who never missed a Mary Tyler Moore show on Saturday nights. Beautiful, kind, humble, understanding, and willing to stand up for her values; watching the character Mary Richard's played by MTM was like watching life lessons on how to grow up and be a good person. And those were tough years. Society was in turmoil: Vietnam, Watergate, Civil rights, etc. Yet even as a kid I knew that show was gently, through humor, helping us deal with complexity.

That same dualism was part of who MTM was as a human being, as the documentary points out, particularly in a condescending Suskind interview that she handles beautifully. But it misses a great deal too. Her shows were not just funny, they were important milestones culturally. They were part of an era; they helped define that era. The 70s show became a huge hit, won tons of Tonys, and spun off so many shows it seemed at the time like MTM Enterprises had replaced MGM - they even spoofed the studio with a tiny cat instead of a Lion. Her impact was huge. But you don't really get a feel for that impact from this doc.

For instance, instead of spending way too much time on her last husband, which gets creepy and weird (like someone is trying really hard to prove something - he's a producer), more important to her legacy would have been more depth about her company, how those shows spun off, and her relationship with husband Grant Tinker, which is glossed over. (Jealousy?) Tinker was a huge TV influence, first through his wife then on his own. He deserved more in the doc.

Oddly enough, so did MTM. We endure overly long clips from the same interviewers, and too many voiceovers from celebrity fans. Better would have been in-depth clips from her career, especially her films, more analysis of her impact on television from the experts (not just friends), more background from Van Dyke, and more context about other iconic shows at that time: All In The Family, Rhoda, Maud, Sanford and Son, and the Jeffersons. And it would have been perfect to end, not with the last husband ad nauseum (2 appearances are sufficient, not dozens), but with that wonderful reunion of MTM, Betty, and Valerie on 'Hot in Cleveland,' her last scripted performance. It was a beautiful TV moment, like all of her work. The doc director treated his subject far too superficially.

As "Being Mary Tyler Moore" (2023 release; 120 min) opens, she is interviewed on the David Susskind Show in 1966, where she is being interviewed as one of the major breakout stars of The Dick Van Dyke show. We then go back in time to "Brooklyn, 1936" where MTM was borne and raised... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from director James Adolphus. I read somewhere that supposedly he had no knowledge of Mary Tyler Moore before being hired for this project. Is that believable or even possible? In any event, Adolphus does ok, but to me it felt like it was all super-straight-forward. Yes, all the highlights are there. But where are the new insights? Maybe it is not possible to provide new insights on this TV icon. And at 2 hours, the documentary runs a bit long for its own good. Does this make it a "bad" documentary? Of course not. But it lacks the element of surprise or new insights.

"Being Mary Tyler Moore" recently started airing on HBO and streaming on Max (where I caught it). If you are a fan of MTM (as I am myself), I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I loved the actress Mary Tyler Moore. I have watched the Dick Van Dyke Shoe, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the film Ordinary People. On screen she was a wonderful actress and performer.

I only have to say that that the documentary did not get deep enough into Ms Tyler Moore's private life.

I loved everything I saw but I wished there was more. I just didn't learn enough about her that I didn't already know.

I saw that Ms Moore's sister and son died young but I wanted to learn more about Ms Moore's background.

She had a happy marriage. But she was a political conservative.

I just wanted to learn about her last years. She was let go by Neil Simon while preparing for a role on Broadway.it would have been interesting to understand what occurred as she was suffering Ming from diabetes.