RBG (2018) Magnolia/Documentary RT: 98 minutes Rated PG (some thematic elements, language) Director: Betsy West and Julie Cohen Music: Miriam Cutler Cinematography: Claudia Raschke Release date: May 11, 2018 (Philadelphia, PA) Cast: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Nina Totenberg.
Rating: ***
If any Supreme Court Justice can be described as a rock star, it’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The left-leaning feminist and pop culture icon is the subject of RBG, a compelling and sometimes funny documentary that looks at her life and legacy. The title is a call-out to the nickname bestowed upon her by her fans “The Notorious RBG” which, of course, is a reference to the famous rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Ginsburg jokes that they’re not all that different; they’re both from Brooklyn. She’s a fascinating figure who also has her detractors, something that RBG barely acknowledges. As of late, she’s known for her dissenting opinions. Shouldn’t it follow that a documentary about her should delve into dissenting opinions about her?
Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen take us through 85YO Ginsburg’s entire life starting with her childhood. It was evident early on she would never fit into the role of the ideal woman of the time. Intelligent, independent and outspoken, she wasn’t about to accept a life in which her husband brought home the bacon for her to cook. In fact, she couldn’t cook to save her life. Her grown children joke that she was banned from the kitchen by unanimous vote.
After high school, she went to Harvard Law School where she was one of nine women in a class of over 500. It was there that she met her husband Marty on a blind date. She comments that he was the first guy who accepted the fact that she had a brain. He was one of her most ardent supporters; he didn’t even object when she opted to continue her education after giving birth to their first child.
Once she earned her law degree, Ginsburg went on to be part of several landmark cases before the Supreme Court like the groundbreaking 1973 Frontiero vs. Richardson case where it was ruled that the US military cannot deny benefits to ANY of its personnel because of gender. Ginsburg ultimately won five of the six cases she argued before the Supreme Court. When arguing a case, she would use it as an opportunity to teach the all-male panel that gender inequality did indeed exist. When she did, she did so in a quiet yet firm manner taught to her by her mother. Yelling, she explains, just makes people turn away.
RBG keeps returning to her Senate Committee confirmation hearing in 1993 after then-President Bill Clinton nominated her to fill the seat vacated by retiring Justice Byron White. She was only the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court after Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981. The hearing was overseen by conservative Senator Orrin Hatch (one of the interview subjects) who tells her that he admires her even though he disagrees with her politics.
There’s a lot to like about Ginsburg, especially her ability to take a joke. She’s shown laughing while watching Kate McKinnon’s impression of her on SNL. To be fair, it’s one of the few good things about SNL these days. She’s also quite the dynamo; she regularly exercises with a trainer. It’s said that she does 20 push-ups three times a week. It’s no wonder many see RBG as a superhero. Many, not all.
There are those who don’t like her. Certain right-wing figures have referred to her by unfavorable terms like “witch” and “very wicked”. RBG doesn’t devote a whole lot of time to the anti-RBG folks. We get a few sound bites at the beginning and a brief sequence dealing with her anti-Trump comments in 2016. She took a lot of flak for that. I realize and appreciate that the makers of RBG intend for their documentary to sing Ginsburg’s praises. Hey, I like her too. The woman is a real firecracker. But why not tell the whole story? If you’re going to bring up those who don’t agree with her, you should examine their issues with her more closely. You should delve more deeply into the complexities of the law.
As much as I like RBG, I would have liked a fuller portrait of a woman who has become an idol to a younger generation as evidenced by the many memes about her. She really is a fascinating person. She’s a huge fan of opera. She was close friends with Justice Antonin Scalia, her political polar opposite, until his death in 2016. We get many details of her personal and public lives. Overall, RBG is a good movie even if it is just preaching to the choir.
