The uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.The uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.The uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité.
- Awards
- 1 win & 6 nominations total
- Self
- (archive footage)
- …
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Director Chiemi Karasawa and her crew follow this grand dame of the stage around Manhattan as she preps for a new one-woman show, chats with friends, poses for pictures with fans and passersby, and speaks, with often brutal honesty, about her life, her career and her views on aging and death. Needless to say, her outsized talent and personality shine forth through every single moment of the film.
On a personal level, the movie chronicles her struggles with alcoholism and diabetes, her marriage to John Bay, the one love of her life, who died of brain cancer in 1982, her affair with Ben Gazara, etc. Karasawa interviews a number of celebrities - Nathan Lane, the late James Gandolfini, the cast of "30 Rock," among them - to get a sense of what it was like to work with Stritch on a professional level. The movie buttresses this with a veritable treasure trove of photographs showing Stritch at various stages in her life and career.
The movie doesn't shy away from showing the difficulties and diminished capacities that come with aging. For instance, there are moments of tremendous tension as Stritch becomes increasingly temperamental and irascible, struggling to do things now that came so easily to her in her youth (i.e. remembering lyrics during rehearsals and sometimes even performances). There are times when she even comes across as a bit of a diva or curmudgeon, going so far as to "direct" the documentary itself, molding a particular scene to her own liking.
The fact that Stritch died not long after the filming of the movie makes watching it now an especially poignant experience, as what was initially intended as a tribute has now become an elegy.
One of her non-celebrity friends describes Elaine Stritch as "a Molotov cocktail of madness, sanity and genius." That pretty much sums her up, all right.
The documentary also shows Elaine battling diabetes and alcoholism. When asked point blank what she fears the most, she answers "drinking". The other challenge she battles is to remember the lyrics of the songs she is to perform, be it during the rehearsals or during the show itself. It all leads up to Elaine's performance at the Town Hall in NY.
The documentary also contains a bunch of archival clips, including Elaine performing on a TV variety show in 1955, yes almost 60 years ago, but also her unforgettable speech at the Emmys some 10 years ago. Kudos to director Chiemi Karasawa, a veteran in the film industry but her debut as a feature director. She is able to bring us an honest portrayal of an aging ("I'm older but don't call me old!") Elaine Stritch. I can only hope I have the same energy and enthusiasm for life if I make it to 86. This documentary opened this weekend at one of the art-house theaters here in SW Ohio, and the late matinée I saw this at was PACKED, believe it or not. "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me" is an enjoyable documentary and worth checking out, be it in the theater or on DVD/Blu-ray.
She talks about herself as the old woman she is (or rather was) and she talks about herself as the young and beautiful up and coming actress/star. She hides nothing about her life - insecurities, alcoholism, diabetes, her fashion sense, and what she expects of herself and others.
Watching this documentary is entertaining even if you have never heard of her. It will also make you glad you didn't know her (as it did for me). She comes across as an overbearing woman with maybe unreasonable demands, but thats what goes into becoming a star in ones own time.
Did you know
- Quotes
Elaine Stritch: When the doctor called me and told me he had cancer... I burst into a flood of tears... That's the way I cried when John died. And then I cried no more!... But I said, "I've got to, I gotta, gotta get going and see what I can find now," 'cause I loved being married, and I loved being in love, and I loved all that. So where am I gonna find that again? And I never did. I never did.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Paternity Leave (2015)
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Элейн Стритч: Снимите меня
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $327,452
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $27,853
- Feb 23, 2014
- Gross worldwide
- $327,452
- Runtime
- 1h 21m(81 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
- 16:9 HD