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Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Directed by Chiemi Karasawa

USA, 2013

The worst thing you can say about Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me is that it’s too damn short, clocking in at just over 80 minutes. Within only a few of those minutes, it’s clear that the subject of this up-close-and-personal documentary could fill at least 2 hours with stories from her eclectic past, working with such legends as Stephen Sondheim, Rock Hudson, Bela Lugosi, Edward Albee, and more. Instead, the documentary follows her around New York City and Detroit over a short period in early 2012, displaying how feisty, fierce, and wonderfully alive Ms. Stritch is at 87. (And, as this film is being marketed around the country upon its release, it’s clear that, at age 89, she hasn’t slowed down much.)

From the start, Stritch is at her unfiltered best. (For those who delighted at her saying “fuck” on The Today Show recently,...

Elaine Stritch is an iconic actress of both the stage and screen. Now well into her mid-80s she is still pushing herself to produce quality performances. But between her battle with alcoholism and combating a serious case of diabetes, Stritch is starting to grow weary. Not that she’ll let that stop her from helming yet another one-woman cabaret show (with a multi-city tour to boot). So one week after spotting Stritch at her hair salon, filmmaker Chiemi Karasawa agreed with her hair stylist’s suggestion that she should make a documentary about Stritch.

Karasawa immediately went home to research Stritch, having only a passing knowledge of her career. And after only a brief examination, Karasawa was hooked on the actress. Through Stritch’s close friend and music director Rob Bowman, Karasawa was able to woo the actress; and the result was the enlightening documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.

In the entertainment industry, a lot of women get forsaken in the public’s consciousness even before they reach middle age. In Chiemi Karasawa’s documentary Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, the legendary Elaine Stritch celebrates her 88th birthday. And per one of her oft-performed Stephen Sondheim songs, “she’s still here.” The title of the doc is clearly a play on words – Stritch is hardly a fatalist, but instead she demands to be the center of attention, to be filmed. “Shot” in that way. The documentary follows Stritch as she gears up for her last tour as she battles the ravages of aging and diabetes. Karasawa paints a well-rounded portrait of Stritch here, because in addition to filming Stritch being her glorious brash self, Karasawa films her forgetting song lyrics, without her makeup, and dealing with her sobriety, among other things. Because of this multifaceted look at Stritch, the film succeeds in being enjoyable, especially...

New York -- Elaine Stritch would rather get on with it.

The 88-year-old Broadway legend and New York icon – as much a fixture as the Statue of Liberty, but with a whole lot more to say – has made her way slowly into the Chelsea theater where the documentary "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me" was premiering Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Led to a green room before the show starts, she's displeased about the seating options, and, coming off a hip surgery, would prefer to go directly into the theater. She isn't shy about it. First, though, she grips a reporter by the forearm, fixes her gaze on him, and says in that unmistakable, feisty voice:

"There are ways around my life, if you know what I mean."

She has lived a full one, from defining performances of Stephen Sondheim tunes on Broadway to the Tony- and Emmy-winning one-woman show "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty...