No one was tougher on Mary Tyler Moore than Mary Tyler Moore. “I was raised to be or look like the perfect person,” she admitted in her first memoir, After All (1995). Her sitcom convinced her viewers that she was the best girl in the world. And she kept smirking as she felt the pressure to match her character.
The fascinating documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore, directed by James Adolphus, aims to peek under those smiles. We get a glimpse of her grief and frustration, her disappointment and death (and yes, that stink when she played a swooning nun for Elvis). However, the film itself is so obsessed with Moore that it ignores her worst wounds she inflicted on herself. For example, Moore states in her book that after she got drunk and played Russian roulette in her car, she finally accepted her sobriety, thereby confessing her own shortcomings. As if talking about a time of relief.
fair enough. Admiration from Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Reese Witherspoon is simply a hit of celebrity glitz, but Moore’s career alone has a lot to say. The film consists of archival footage of his two television interviews with Moore. The first, his 1966, is sexist and condescending. The second, held 15 years after him, is empathetic and exploratory. In the meantime, Moore reframed how women are treated on the small screen.
She would rather call herself a realist than a feminist. But we are amazed at how little her TV persona is. was Authentic. America’s favorite bachelor hasn’t been single since high school. And America’s favorite intrepid careerist actually lost his job because he was pregnant or asked for a raise. Ironically, Moore’s perfect image allowed her to develop her culture, even as it interfered with her own enjoyment.
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 59 minutes. Watch on the HBO platform.
