The artist bio-doc--handled just about perfectly--in Chris McKim's WOJNAROWICZ: F**K YOU F*GGOT F**KER

That this new documentary, WOJNAROWICZ: F**K YOU F*GGOT F**KER, about the late activist/artist David Wojnarowicz (pronounced voh-nah-ROH-vitch), seems so rich and complete, so deep and direct that you finish it with the feeling that you know this man (I certainly wished that I had) is due as much to the help that Wojnarowicz himself unwittingly gave the director, Chris McKim, by making and leaving behind, nearly from childhood onward, a visual record of his difficult and fascinating life. 

Thanks to Wojnarowicz's own record and to the superb way in which McKim (shown at right) and his editor Dave Stanke have woven this into the rest of the narrative, we understand the artist better and better, as well as further appreciating his work -- much of which is seen here -- as the documentary moves on. 

How the life affected the work (and vice versa) is also demonstrated exceedingly well; the film is practically a model for how to put together a bio-doc about an artist. But of course most docs about artists are not lucky enough to have the first-person record of a life that Mr. Wojnarowicz  left us.

From a singularly drunken and abusive father to living life on the street as a very young teenage hustler to the final years of AIDS that ended his too-short life, Wojnarowicz (shown above and below via his art) seemed to move from crisis to crisis. 

We learn of his relationship with his sister and (eventually estranged) brother, the fine photographer Peter Hujar (who was his lover for a time and his longtime mentor and best friend), and we hear from various friends -- primarily Fran Lebowitz, who, as usual, provides terrific commentary, including how Wojnarowicz even became involved with The Mob!

Once art critic Grace Gluek of The New York Times comes upon the work of David and other East Village artists, major success arrives, and Wojnarowicz begins to draw the attention of "collectors," some of whom hire him to produce installations for them. The wealthy Mnuchin family is one of these, and what our artist creates for them will raise some eyebrows and provoke some laughs. ("David didn't really like rich people," one of the doc's commentators quietly notes.)

The more we learn, the more we come to care about this guy, and so well-done, rich and comprehensive is the entire documentary that, by its end, you may feel that you'ved lived through several decades, while getting to know -- and appreciate -- an amazing artist, activist, writer and man. And without a trace of any cheapjack sentimentality included, I suspect you'll be greatly moved, as well.

From Kino Lorber and running a just-about-perfectly-timed 105 minutes, Wojnarowicz: F**K You F*ggot F**ker (the title is named after one of the artist's works, above, that we view during the film) opens in virtual cinemas today, Friday, March 19, at Film Forum in New York City and elsewhere. To see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here and then scroll down.

The life & times of skating champion John Curry in James Erskine doc, THE ICE KING

What a sad, sad life. Though Olympic champion John Curry is most remembered for his magnificent ice skating that turned sport into art, as well as for his "off-the-record" remark about his homosexuality that made him the first openly gay winner of an Olympic championship, viewers of THE ICE KING, are likely to come away from this surprising and very moving 2018 documentary feeling as saddened as they are surprised by the life of this man -- who died in 1994 at the untimely age of 44.

As written and directed by noted documentarian James Erskine, shown at left, the movie plows right into this almost typical -- except for Curry's amazing skills and tenacity -- story of a 20th Century growing-up-gay man, including that withholding father whom you can never quite please, and the consequent loneliness of a life lived far too long in the closet.

Thanks to a trove of varied and pointed archival footage -- much of which is not first-rate quality but is clearly the best of what was available -- we experience Curry's life as a child, a young man and finally as a hugely successful skater/artist.

As narrated by actor Freddie Fox, the documentary moves at a good clip, underscoring the more important points along the way and making good use of that fine archival footage with much less time given to the usual "talking heads" we encounter in so many more typical biographical docs.

We meet the friends, lovers and business associates of Mr. Curry (the artist is shown above and below), who together help build a portrait of a driven, lonely and not ever very happy young man.

The film allows us to see enough of his training, skating and "dance" -- I think there's no getting around the fact that viewing Curry in action was like watching the finest male ballet dancer (think Nureyev, among a very few others) on ice -- to understand why, as both athlete and artist, this man was exceptional.

The Ice King also gives us its subject, warts and all -- late in the film we learn that Curry could be particularly nasty to the women in his troupe -- including the various demons that drove him (he liked to be "punished" sexually, it would seem).

Through it all, however, what emerges is an artist of huge talent and possibility.

What Curry achieved, as shown here, should only make you sorry you could not have seen him in action at, say, his debut on the stage of New York City's Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center. The word wow would seem to have been coined just for him.

From Film Movement and running 89 minutes, The Ice King makes its American DVD and digital debut this coming Tuesday, October 8 -- for purchase and/or rental.

EVERY ACT OF LIFE: Jeff Kaufman's bio-doc of playwright Terrence McNally hits home video

Even if you are not a super-fan of the well-known and hugely prolific playwright Terrence McNally, I suspect that, if you're a legitimate-theater lover, you'll be fascinated and very probably transported by EVERY ACT OF LIFE, the new documentary about the man's life, loves and career.

As written, directed and produced by Jeff Kaufman, this biographical documentary is chock full of interesting details, facts and opinions, often offered up by McNally himself, who seems clearly delighted to be the subject of this film -- which is hagiography, yes, but is so damned entertaining that I don't think you'll much mind at all.

Mr. Kaufman has whipped together quite a soufflé of McNally's history (born in Florida but mostly raised in Corpus Christi, Texas), love affairs, activism (he was gay and "out" from an early adult age and never seems to have regretted this choice -- the out part, I mean, not the gay), but especially concentrates on the playwright's career and work.

This is wise choice because, for theater fans, it allows us to meet and hear from a huge range of actors and other theater, movie and television folk who've appeared in, produced or been somehow involved in the playwright's work down the decades. These include the fabulous Nathan Lane (shown below, whose appearances here as both actor and interviewee are priceless), Rita Moreno, F. Murray Abraham, Christine Baranski and oodles more, plus Manhattan Theater Club's Lynne Meadow (the MTC's somewhat spineless treatment and cave-in-to-censorship regarding McNally's infamous and perhaps unfairly treated Corpus Christi play is rather glossed over here).

We're also made privy to McNally's various love relationships -- from the early days of his affair with the very closeted and very successful playwright Edward Albee (shown below, right, with a quite adorable and young McNally) right up to and including his present husband. Their marriage took place once the LGBT community had been afforded that legal right. Along the way, two of the playwright's earlier partners succumbed to AIDS.

That loss, along with the general and longstanding inequality offered to America's gay population, was responsible for much of McNally's activism, some of which we see here, and which also, and more important for an artist, led to so much of the themes and ideas about outsiders, alternative life styles and sexualities and the constant need to persevere that are present in his work.

The filmmaker and playwright also collaborate to bring us some info about McNally's mid-life addictions (mostly to alcohol it would seem) and how he handled this. There's a wonderful anecdote about a party and the reactions of two guests -- Lauren Bacall and Angela Lansbury -- to Mr. McNally's party faux pas. Ms Lansbury tells us her version herself, and she is quite lovely and compassionate, as she does this.

For all we learn about the playwright's love and work and problems and accomplishments, however, and as much as McNally seems willing to open up and charm and amuse us, there remains a distinct lack of real depth to the documentary. (This lack has long made TrustMovies a bit wary of McNally's oeuvre itself. Much of it I've found fun and moving over the years, but little of it has really stuck with me.) We hear all these wonderful things being said about our hero but almost nothing that's remotely negative. (We do learn what a stickler he is for actors sticking to the script and even to the punctuation on the page; no improvisation, please! And there's a very interesting anecdote regarding the initial problems with his script for Lips Together, Teeth Apart, and how certain actors were able to get him to see and then change these.)

Still, the movie means to be a celebration -- and it is -- with the energy and good will on display here carrying audiences easily along. McNally has lived such a lengthy and interesting life (he turns 80 years old today, actually: Happy Birthday, Mr. McNally!) and has rubbed shoulders (and other bodily parts) with so many talented and beautiful personalities that Every Act of Life could get by on this information alone. One major surprise here comes as we learn about the affair he evidently had with a successful female playwright but kept this knowledge from the gay community because -- as I understood it, at least -- of its then politically incorrect stance. (I have often felt that the "B" in our GLBT acronym needs to be much better understood and accepted. It's what connects us rather solidly to the straight community and helps us share in ways that have barely been explored, either scientifically or artistically.)

From The Orchard and running a swift and entertaining 92 minutes, the documentary, after a slew of popular festival appearances, hits home video this coming Tuesday, November 6, digitally and on VOD.

Lisa D'Apolito's documentary LOVE, GILDA tracks the career of a popular 1970s comedian

Gilda Radner was a very big name during the 1970s and 80s, appearing  regularly on Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1975-80, doing her own one-woman show on Broadway, and finally appearing in some flop movies toward the end of her career. For fans of this popular comedian -- and there are many now in or approaching their senior years -- LOVE, GILDA, the new bio-documentary directed by Lisa D'Apolito, will probably be a "must."

Although Radner herself wrote a memoir, It's Always Something, which was published almost immediately after her untimely death from ovarian cancer in 1989, this new documentary should provide further insight ont and enjoyment from this funny, goofy gal.

Ms D'Apolito, shown at right, weaves a nice tapestry of archival photos and film/video, interviews with other comedians (often of the SNL ilk), friends and relatives who, together with the information gleaned from Gilda herself (she was quite prone to writing/diary-keeping) that provides a pretty decent look into the life and career of a special performer.

As to whether the movie will provide non-fans or younger generations unfamiliar with Radner (shown above and below) an understanding of what made the comic special, TrustMovies is not sure.

The snippets we see of her performing are so brief and all-over-the-place that those who don't know and love her various "characters" -- all or most from her SNL days -- may miss that special appeal. They are likely to come away from the film with more of a sense of how "problemed" she was rather than how funny she could be.

We learn about her various relationships (mostly failed) culminating in the one -- with actor/comedian Gene Wilder (above, right) -- that proved the best for her in terms of love, companionship and caring, if not perhaps creativity or artistry.

Among the celebrities interviewed are Melissa McCarthy (above), Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Chevy Chase and Lorne Michaels (below), each of whose remarks add to the sense of (mostly deserved) hagiography that consistently builds here.

Radner's life, at least as shown here -- plagued by eating disorders and the kind of low-self-esteem that she found it easiest to make fun of first, before others beat her to the punch (the kind of self-deprecating humor that current popular comedian Hannah Gadsby claims to have sworn off for good) -- was more sad than funny, something to be surmounted, rather than enjoyed.

From Magnolia Pictures and running 88 minutes, the documentary opens this Friday nationwide in a limited rollout. Here in South Florida, you can see it at the Lake Worth Playhouse, the Living Room Theater in Boca Raton, and the O Cinema, Miami Beach. Wherever you live, click here to locate the theaters nearest you.

Get to know Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Julie Cohen/Betsy West's rousing documentary, RBG

As have so many of us, TrustMovies has been a fan of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ever since she was originally appointed to the court back in 1993. Watching the wonderful, rousing, feel-good (and for good reason) documentary RBG made me better understand the many reasons why appreciating this amazing woman comes so easily and thoroughly. If no less an adversary than her late co-justice Antonin Scalia could be a fan, as this movie makes clear was the case, perhaps it's time for some other right-wing-nut Republicans to come aboard, too.

As produced and directed by filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West (shown above, with Ms Cohen on the right), the documentary is immediately engaging and provoking, beginning as it does with an array of nasty comments about Justice Ginsburg -- who has struggled for and won so many landmark cases involving women's rights -- coming mostly from men, of course. (She is shown below with President Jimmy Carter, at the time of her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.)

The movie is a heady, buoyant mix of history, splendid archival photos, and most especially the thoughts and ideas that Justice Ginsburg wrote and spoke that helped win those early cases and that now mark her as the chief dissenting voice in a Supreme Court far too packed with right-wing ideologues using their power and their very cheap excuses to foist upon America such garbage as the Citizens United and Lilly Ledbetter decisions (among far too many others).

As the documentary makes clear, Justice Ginsburg began her time on the Court as a kind of consensus-achieving middle-grounder, but she has had to move much farther to the left to try to counteract the shoddy and oppressive decisions of the majority of these foul knaves. Clarence Thomas? Really? Oh, well: onwards and sideways, as ever.

We see our Justice in the Court, at the gym with her trainer (above), in her office (below) and with family members -- especially her late husband who seems to have been a prince of a fellow who genuinely believed in and lived by the idea of gender equality.

Though their movie is definitely pro-Ginsburg, the filmmaker don't pussyfoot around RBG's harsh words preceding this past Presidential election concerning Donald Trump. Was this an incorrect thing for a sitting justice to say. Maybe. But has there ever been as incorrect a President as Mr. Trump -- in both his words (lies) and his actions?

The movie is also just a tad repetitive. Do we need to see, more than once, RBG laughing at the antics of Kate McKinnon, as the actress plays RBG on Saturday Night Live? Don't think so. And, as often happens in these bio-docs, the words of praise for the subject -- absolutely deserved, of course -- do pile up a little too long and lengthily toward the finale

But these are minor quibbles. By the end of RBG, I was more than grateful to have been able to learn so much about this fine woman, to hear her ideas and to see her in action, that I can only now hope that the increasingly dumbed-down America she has spent her life working for actually deserves her. We shall see. At age 85, how long can this fine lady last? We can only hope that she continues her work until the now utterly despicable Republican Party no longer controls the Supreme Court, Congress and the Presidency.

From Magnolia Pictures and running maybe five minutes too long at 97 minutes, the documentary opened this past week in more than 30 cities across the country and will hit more than 100 others this Friday, May 11. Here in South Florida, RBG will play the Miami area at the O Cinema Miami Beach, MDC’s Tower Theater, AMC Aventura 24, AMC Sunset Place 24, and Regal South Beach. In Palm Beach County, look for it in Boca Raton at the Regal Shadowood and the Cinemark Palace -- with the Movies of Delray and Movies of Lake Worth, and the Lake Worth Playhouse adding to the mix come next Friday, May 18. Click here and scroll down to see the entire list of playdates, cities and theaters all across the country.

DVDebut for 1991 bio-doc loaded with extras: DORIS DAY -- A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY

In the interesting and surprising introduction to the 27-year-old documentary, DORIS DAY: A SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, no less than famous film critic Roger Ebert admits that he feels quite, quite guilty for making such fun of singer/actress Doris Day during the latter part of her really phenomenal career, realizing at last that for years in former times she was actually his favorite actress. TrustMovies suspects that many of us may have a similar reaction, making fun of Day (who turned 96 earlier this month) as the "perennial virgin" during those post-Pillow Talk years while rather conveniently forgetting how much we loved her in earlier times. (Romance on the High Seas, her 1948 movie debut, remains one of my fondest movie-magic memories, while the 1951 Storm Warning -- nowhere mentioned in this very "selective" documentary -- gave me my initial education regarding the Ku Klux Klan.)

Ms Day (shown above, early in her career, and further below in various film incarnations) was effortlessly cute, charming, innocent, funny and real, while possessing one of the great singing voices of the time, and her career included a number of movies that, even today, hold up marvelously well.

This documentary -- directed by Dick Carter and Steve Norman and written by James Arntz and Katherine MacMillin -- includes interviews with a host of Hollywood celebs, especially a lot of gab from Betty White and Tony Randall, with some interesting remarks also provided by the likes of Kaye Ballard, Rosemary Clooney, Clint Eastwood (above, with Doris), Ross Hunter and, of all people, John Updike.

The commentary is generally intelligent and entertaining, as it describes Day's growing and evolving career, from pure musical-comedy (as in Calamity Jane, above) to the more dramatic roles in films such as The Man Who Knew Too Much (below) and Love Me or Leave Me (two photos down). Both the star and her documentary are as perky and positive as seemingly ever.

What's missing here is anything that might be considered "personal." Oh, we hear about Day's various marriages (three of them) and the several blips along the way in her career (an accident early on that made her move from dancing to singing), with special emphasis on how her third husband, agent Martin Melcher, pushed his star/wife in new directions.

Fortunately, the disc includes one large bonus feature that helps fill this gap. That would be the complete 1976 interview with Merv Griffin from his then television show, in which the host talks to Day about all sorts of subjects and the star answers him with thoughtful, measured and often quite wonderful responses. What a pleasure (and a surprise) it is to see something like this -- which puts to utter shame the canned, schlocky late-night talk shows we have now (from Kimmel and Fallon to Meyers, Daly, Corden and Colbert) in which everybody speaks so fast, loud (and phony) that it seems as if they're all playing Beat the Clock. Watch reruns of Merv Griffin or Dick Cavett to view "real" people and to see and understand how degraded our talk shows, along with their audiences, have finally become.

Also on the disc's extras is the complete TV episode, The Job, from The Doris Day Show, and a rather large collection of trailers and promotional spots for some of the star's movies. From MPI Home Video and running 54 minutes (plus 84 minutes of bonus material), Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey hits the street on DVD this Tuesday, April 17, for purchase and (I hope) rental). The disc should prove catnip for fans and might just provide this screen-and-recording icon with a number of new converts. (That's Day and co-star Jack Carson, above, right, in Romance on the High Seas.)

Catching up with Alexandra Dean's fine doc, BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY

First hitting U.S. theaters in November of 2017,  BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY has continued to play to surprising large crowds all across the country -- particularly, I would guess, in areas where senior citizens reign supreme. We remember this gorgeous leading lady of cinema. And although the film is playing currently in a two-week run here in South Florida, TrustMovies suspects that this is already something of  a "return engagement." No matter.

The movie's worth seeing, certainly, and probably, for some people, more than once. Though the famous Ms Lamarr was most noted for her beauty, as you may have heard by now, she did and was a lot of other important things, as well.

As an Austrian Jew with a burgeoning film career in her native region before WWII (Hitler is said to have hated the landmark film in which she starred, Ecstasy), Lamarr had to flee Austria and come to America to continue to make her mark on audiences worldwide. As written and directed by Alexandra Dean, Bombshell is actually a relatively quiet and thoughtful documentary. And though Lamarr's life offered plenty of ammunition for scandal and shock, Ms Dean, shown at left, manages to keep us focused on the woman herself: who she was and what she tried to achieve.

As Lamarr herself admitted, she was best known for her beauty, but she also possessed a unique intelligence  and deep interest in how things worked -- which eventually led her, along with well-known musical composer George Anthiel, to invent a technology known as frequency hopping (now called Spread Spectrum), originally conceived to help the Allied forces during World War II, that has led to the creation of everything from fax machines to cell phones and wireless.

How this came about is but one part of this eye-opening and fascinating documentary/biography, from which Lamarr emerges as a complicated, frequently troubled woman, who proved a fine parent (early on, at least), a much-married movie star, and finally a kind of recluse, living out her last years with little income and even fewer friends -- though at last, during the short time before her death, receiving some genuine acknowledgment and tribute for her invention.

Along the way, we hear from an enormous number of "fans," from Peter Bogdanovich to Mel Brooks, Robert Osborne (who was also a close friend) to German actress Diane Kruger, plus a number of family members, children and grandchildren. What they tell us is both germane and entertaining. (That's one of Lamarr's co-stars, Spencer Tracy, above, left).

By the finale of this 90-minute movie, we've been surprised, amused and moved by this life that was so much richer, fuller and sadder than we could probably have ever imagined.

From Zeitgeist Films, now working in conjunction with Kino Lorber, the movie continues its slow and steady nationwide release. Click here  (then scroll down) to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters. Eventually, of course, there will be home video options, as well.

MANSFIELD 66/67: P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes' snarky ode to that blond bombshell

Part camp, part history, part gossip/rumor, part archival treasure trove, part animation, MANSFIELD 66/67 purports to give us the inside story of not-quite super-star Jayne Mansfield, her relatively short life, thirteen-year career and grizzly death. Certainly as much mockumentary as documentary, the movie joins the ever-growing ranks of what are now termed hybrid docs. Whatever you might have thought of Ms Mansfield -- if you're even old enough to remember her -- chances are you'll leave this semi-sleazy little movie feeling that the star somehow been cheated out of any kind of genuine bio-pic.

To be fair, the film's press release describes the doc as "a true story based on rumor and hearsay, where classic documentary interviews and archival materials are blended with dance numbers, performance art, and animation." That's an on-the-mark description, and the film's lengthy "disclaimer," which is the very first thing you'll see on screen, seems to underscore this idea.

As directed by P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes (shown above, with Ebersole on the right), the movie is almost consistently hit and miss, beginning with a post-disclaimer choral group singing a kind of ode of Ms Mansfield that's campy and cute. But when the group comes back again, below, as patrons of a hair salon, its routine is mostly obvious and unfunny.

Over and over during this mock/doc, you may find yourself asking, Why are they showing us this? And so damned much of it, too? Mostly, TrustMovies suspects, this is simply "filler," so that the film will last the requisite full-length running time.

Information-wise, the doc's ace-in-the-hole would seem to be Mansfield's relationship with Satanist Anton LaVey (above), but even this is babbled about for far too long without giving us much of anything ether definitive or all that important. The movie includes interviews with everyone from John Waters (in tackier mode than usual) to Kenneth Anger, Mary Woronov and gossip monger A.J. Benza, plus some would-be historians, culture mavens and assorted drag performers (one of whom is shown below).

The worst thing about the film is the blond would-be Mansfield look-alike (who looks almost nothing like the star, save for some blond tresses) and may be a female impersonator, in any case. This person takes up far too much screen time, dancing and carrying on and dragging out this too-long movie by maybe ten or fifteen minutes too many. Is she/he the director's girlfriend/boyfriend or son/daughter, perhaps? Who knows? Who cares -- except that s/he brings the movie down considerably.

The doc is not a dead loss. There are some fun and/or funny moments along the way, and recapping this sex goddess' career may spark some interest in her oeuvre from the younger set.

Overall, however, this is the case of a possibly good idea gone south or maybe just a bad one given a few good laughs before being done to death. Ms Mansfield, who made some fun films during her short stay, deserves better. And so perhaps does even the bizarre Mr. LaVey (above).

From filmbuff and running 84 minutes, the movie opens today, Friday, October 27, in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Ahrya Fine Arts in conjunction with a couple of Ms Mansfield's better-known movies. You can check the theater's daily schedule here. Otherwise, the film will plays at a number of cities around the country. Click here to view them all.