RBG

"RBG" (PG, 1:38) is a documentary about the life of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is directed by documentary film producers Julie Cohen ("American Veteran") and Betsy West ("The Lavender Scare"). The film was released in U.S. theaters on May 4, 2018, after making the festival circuit in the first few months of the year during which it won a couple Best Documentary prizes.

The film traces Ginsburg's life from her childhood in Brooklyn, New York through her years struggling to be taken seriously as a young female law student and practicing attorney (but racking up impressive accomplishments nonetheless) and through her tenure on the highest court in the land and improbable emergence as a pop culture icon. The storyline is basically linear, but includes frequent jumps backward, forward and even sideways as it examines different aspects of her life, personality and public image.

Along the way, there's a good mix of historical photos, videos, audio clips and graphics, but the main driving force is the well-edited interviews. We hear from Ginsburg's children, her childhood friends, colleagues, admirers and even a few detractors, as well as fellow feminist hero Gloria Steinem, former President Bill Clinton and, of course, Ginsburg herself - at various public appearances, with her personal trainer and sitting down to discuss her life, even reacting to Kate McKinnon's portrayals of her on SNL.

"RBG" is a fascinating and fun documentary. It's unclear how much credit goes to the compelling subject matter vs. the skill of her documentarians, but Cohen and West do keep things moving and paint a well-balanced picture while keeping the audience's interest. Some will find it as difficult to separate their feelings about Ginsburg as a jurist from how they feel about her politics as the filmmakers probably had making their film relatively apolitical, but they did it. They manage to tell Ginsburg's story - and make clear what she believes in (even including a little bit of controversy) - while keeping the focus mainly on Ginsburg as a person and on this strong film as an interesting and entertaining historical document. "A-"

My wife and I watched this at home on DVD from our public library. We saw it after the movie based on her life, "On The Basis of Sex", and it is a good complement to that movie.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a curious person, very smart and very studious. She appreciates good humor, as evidenced by her watching SNL skits based on her and laughing heartily at them. But she herself rarely is humorous, she is serious, there is always work to do. Except for enjoying outings to the opera she mostly stays away from entertainment.

As a 20-something and a new law student at Harvard, she was first alerted to how discriminatory things were when a law dean asked her how she felt about taking a spot away from a man. (The movie also includes that scene.) Then later as a practicing lawyer realized how many laws were written specifically allowing discrimination against women. It wasn't unlike a decade earlier with discrimination against non-white citizens.

So now known as "Notorious RBG" and on the Supreme Court has made much of her life's work to correct that wrong, to work tirelessly for laws and practices that do not discriminate just because of one's gender. She was instrumental in getting VMI to begin to admit female students who could meet the requirements.

The documentary is very well made and no matter what your politics you have to admire the dedication and accomplishments of this woman.

I don't think anyone would call RBG a poor documentary - aside from glorifying its protagonist (and hell, she just might deserve it anyways), its exposition is clean and is about an important subject. That said, I will be quite disappointed if it wins best documentary at the Oscars. It has neither the deeper character and surrounding political climate present in Won't You Be My Neighbor, nor the intrigue or human nature considerations in Three Identical Strangers, yet neither was even nominated and RBG now seems like the front runner! Focusing on this documentary, it is a pleasing narrative but unremarkable. It is clear who RBG is throughout, and we don't really get anything deeper in her character than a quiet, intense person 100% committed to their task as judge, and very committed to ending sex-based discrimination. I would've liked to see more of the opposition she faced and the real intricacies of her fight - it seemed more like she worked really hard and change just happened naturally as she focused on it. I also didn't get a good sense of her personal life or what her job as a judge is like, a missed opportunity. I really don't even know what she believed in aside from women's rights. It's easy to watch and enjoy this appreciation for an enormously impactful and relevant American figure, but it's unfortunate that the picture is so one-dimensional in representing her and just shows her perspective and not much of others. Fine film, but superficial and forgettable.

"RBG" (2018 release; 95 min.) is a documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As the movie opens, we see Ginsburg working out with her personal trainer. "I am 84 and everyone wants to take their picture with me", she comments. We then shift to her 1993 Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearings, where she opens with talking of her Brooklyn roots and upbringing, at which point the movie goes back to the 1930s. At this point we are less than 10 min, into the movie, and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from documentarians Julie COhen and Betsy West. Here they give us an "all access" portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a/k/a "Notorious RBG". As I am a lawyer myself, I am of course quite aware of her, but I must admit I knew very little of her background, and how it made the person that she is today. Just 2 things that stuck with me after the movie: Ginsberg is best known as the champion of gender equality. Did you know that she was one of only 9 female students (out of a class of about 500) at Harvard Law? and that she made law review? And that upon graduating (in 1959), not a single law firm in New York, NOT ONE, offered her a job? The other striking thing is the amazing relationship between Ruth (nicknamed "Kiki" by her childhood friends) and her husband Martin, which is featured prominently in the documentary. Oh, and there is one more thing to remember: the deep friendship between (liberal) RGB and (conservative) Supreme Court justice Antonia Scalia. In these uncertain times, it is important to remember that we don't have to be indignant, disrespectful and worse to people who have a different opinion than our own. In fact, strictly on policy issues, I probably disagree with RBG more than I agree, but that doesn't mean I can't have but the greatest respect for Ginsberg the person. What an icon she is, and the day that she retires from the Supreme Court will be a sad day for this country.

"RBG" premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival to immediate acclaim. The movie opened this weekend on 2 screens at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The early Saturday evening screening where I saw this at was attended very nicely, and I thin that with the positive word-of-mouth this movie is sure to generate that this may have long legs at the art-house theater circuit, IF you are in the mood for an excellent documentary about a remarkable women, I'd readily suggest you check out "RBG", be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

Very well done, inspiring documentary on "notorious" Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I got a chance to catch it at Gasparilla Film Festival in Tampa, Florida. Highly recommend it because it's very motivating, informative and also charming. The film dwells into her life and the type of impact she makes on the world today.