Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It

Rita Moreno, an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award-winning artist, helps tell the story of her incredible 70-year career in Hollywood with audacity and humor.

Poor thing, she, like all of us women, was underestimated, subjugated, exploited, sexualized, diminished simply for being women, and with the added bonus of being an actress and a Latina... She suffered sexual abuse from a director at the beginning of her career, and professional harassment during filming that ended up being a nightmare, and the disgust of Marlon Brando, who forced her to have an abortion, cheated on her, humiliated her, and a toxic relationship that led her to attempt suicide... The first Latina artist to win an "EGOT" Emmy, Grammy, Oscar.

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It is the ultimate in-depth documentary about one of Hollywood's most trailblazing actors. This film is the absolute tear-jerking, hysterical, educational experience of the year. By the movie's end, you just want to go for it too.

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It recounts the life story of critically acclaimed actress Rita Moreno. Rita, who is best known for her roles of Anita in West Side Story and Carmela in The Electric Company, stars in the documentary, along with stars like Whoopie Goldberg, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eva Longoria and more. The film features clips from a large variety of Rita's films throughout her career as well as from award shows, and photographs and footage from her personal life, including interviews with her friends and family.

This film shines a light on how incredible Rita is, and how human as she leads the way for Puerto Ricans and all Hispanics in the 1960s, stands up for women's rights and fights to be able to choose which roles she plays. She deals with being type-cast as an island or Hispanic character, and decides and turns down roles that would shove her into a tiny box. We see the good, the bad, and the ugly side of Rita's life, not just grazing at the surface. It shows how Rita struggled with hating her Hispanic roots, because it limited her as an actress. She tells how she was sexually abused, was forced into an abortion by her then-boyfriend Marlon Brando, and tried to commit suicide. The film shows exactly why Rita is such a beloved actress and person. Despite all she's been through, she never gives up and learned to value the woman she is. Rita grows into her own person throughout the movie, telling how everything that put her down at the time just made her stronger.

The moral of the film is to stay strong and keep fighting. Rita is not eighty-nine years old and one of 15 EGOT winners (acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards), just because she gave up. Being a Puerto Rican actress in New York and trying to find your way in the world wasn't as easy as Moreno makes it look. She has maintained her humbleness and blossomed into a modern woman who fights for human rights and looks great while doing it.

I give Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 13 to 18, plus adults. It is available in theaters June 18, 2021. By Heather S., KIDS FIRST!

I would have never thought of her as a victim. She and her cohorts center her experiences around the fact that she was Hispanic and sexy. Even though she has attained all there is to be had in show business. As a Hispanic woman, I would never lament my path in life as if I never had control. What does this teach our hijas? My Dear, you have lived a life like no other, show a little finesse.

Her story is inspiring and interesting and at times emotional/sad. Rita Moreno is still a firecracker of a woman even at her more mature age, and it's inspiring to see her living her life. One of the great actresses of her generation, and she continues to be an inspiration.

The positive aspects of this documentary were that it really reminded me (and others, I'm sure), of what an immense talent she is, as well as being so smart and attractive. She has had a career to be very proud of, and one that few will ever be able to duplicate.

The negative aspects of this documentary (as some others have already mentioned in this IMDb section), is the "woe is me", victim mentality regarding her career, particularly discussed by Gloria Estefan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eva Longoria, as well as a few Latina academics. While I have no doubt that there were many roadblocks and difficult times for Moreno to get to where she got, this happens to most people on their way to success...not just in Hollywood, but in many other career choices. I don't think Judy Garland had it made. Mira Sorvino's career crashed after she won her Oscar. They are both White. I could go on and on.