Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021, PG-13)

This was an interesting documentary. I learned a lot about this talented actress and complicated, determined woman.

The film was put together in 2018, around the time of Rita Moreno’s 87^th birthday and while she was shooting One Day at a Time. It hits on many of the main points of her life: moving to New York from Puerto Rico as a little girl, getting discovered and becoming a contract player for MGM, West Side Story, and other projects throughout her career. It also delves into heartbreaking personal experiences in her life.

I’ll admit that I’m largely familiar with Moreno’s work in both film adaptations of West Side Story and on One Day at a Time. I haven’t seen many of the other films or shows she’s done, and even with older films I have seen, I hadn’t realized she was in them! Looking at you, Singin’ in the Rain and The King and I. So the documentary offers up a lot of new information for me—I had no idea she was on The Electric Company or Oz.

It’s not surprising that, coming up in the studios in the ‘50s, she put up with a ton of racist crap. Moreno was indiscriminately cast as any of type of “ethnic” girl, delivering her lines in a generic foreign accent and slathered with “mud-colored” makeup—Hollywood could only see her as a brown foreigner, despite needing to darken her skin because she herself didn’t match the image they held of her. I can only imagine how demoralizing it is to long to act but consistently be given racist garbage to perform.

I love what Moreno had to say about West Side Story, how in the absence of role models for her in Hollywood, she created her own role model through her performance as Anita. But as much as she cherished the role, it makes sense that she has complicated feelings about it, given some of the shots taken at Puerto Rico in “America.” She relates a lovely story about a friend who was in the barrio on Oscar night, listening to the sound of the ceremony playing through everyone’s open window and hearing the triumphant shouts when Moreno’s name was called.

I hadn’t known about Moreno’s experience with sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood, but it makes a devastating amount of sense. And I’d had no idea that she had a tumultuous on-again off-again relationship with Marlon Brando. I didn’t know about her long history of activism, or that she was present at the March on Washington!

Her career has had so many ups and downs, but I like hearing about the varied opportunities she’s had over the years, such as memorable turns on The Muppet Show and her role on Oz. And of course, I enjoy what she and others have to say about One Day at a Time—after all the grief she’s gone through to keep acting, I’m glad that role found her in her 80s.

Along with the plentiful interviews with Moreno, the documentary also features numerous talking heads from family, friends, and other Latine creatives in Hollywood. We hear from Gloria Estefan, Eva Longoria, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo, and Justina Machado, among others. Despite the hardships Moreno has been through, it’s still heartening to hear about how much she means to so many people.

Warnings

Discussion of violence (including rape,) language, and strong thematic elements (including discussion of sexual harassment.)

A Few Thoughts on Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Roles of 2023

Like so many other people, I had the odd experience of watching Kingsley Ben-Adir play the villain in a Marvel show and one of the Kens from Barbie one right after the other. And honestly, my effect was diluted, because I wasn’t able to see Barbie until a few weeks after it was released—when it first came out, episodes of Secret Invasion were still dropping! I rewatched Barbie recently, and it reminded me that this dichotomy might be the starkest demonstration I’ve ever seen that a role’s size matters far less than its content.

I’m hardly alone in saying I was disappointed in Secret Invasion, for so many reasons. I won’t rehash all that again, but one of the things I’d been anticipating about the show was seeing Ben-Adir as Gravik. I knew how talented he was—I’ve seen One Night in Miami—but for me, this was another area where the series disappointed me. Not because Ben-Adir gave a bad performance, but because the character of Gravik gave him so little to hold onto. In fact, the few scenes where he really got to shine just highlighted how much he was wasted on the show.

In contrast, we have Barbie. Now, Ben-Adir plays probably a second-tier Ken—obviously less prominent than Ryan Gosling’s, and less than Simu Liu’s as well. But that doesn’t hold him back in the slightest, because he’s an utter delight every time he’s onscreen. Whether he’s holding Gosling-Ken’s ice cream, gagging at the sight of Robbie-Barbie’s flat feet, or serenading a Barbie on the trap set while the rest of the Kens play guitar, he makes the most of every moment, effortlessly funny and memorable.

How can that be? With only a handful of lines and reaction shots in a single blockbuster, how can Ben-Adir make a bigger impact than as the main antagonist with multiple monologues in a six-episode TV series? Simply put, Ben-Adir’s Ken is a great example of a side character functioning perfectly within a story. He improves every scene he’s in without stealing focus, and even with a thin characterization, everything he does totally tracks with who he is. Meanwhile, Gravik never really gets off the ground as a character—his motivations come too late and feel too small, and a number of his actions conflict with one another. Ken is a terrific sandbox for Ben-Adir to play around in, but Gravik is just dead weight pulling him down.

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought that supporting roles don’t have to be lesser. For example, one of my favorite Tony Leung Chiu-wai roles is still his performance as Broken Sword in Hero, and there’s no other role in the film I’d have rather seen him play. I’ve been semi-obsessively writing up Favorite Characters posts for Our Flag Means Death, and no matter how little screentime the various crew members get, each one embodies their character fantastically. But the contrast between these two roles makes the point so clearly, and the fact that they were released on top of one another heightens it even more.

As an offshoot of this notion, I saw some chatter after Barbie came out that Ben-Adir should’ve had Liu’s role as the rival to Gosling-Ken. That definitely would’ve been a bigger role for him, and I don’t doubt that he could’ve been a lot of fun in it. But personally, I wouldn’t have wanted to give up his hilarious, winning performance as his Ken. I wouldn’t trade a moment of that sweet, dumb guy asking the other Kens to guess what bird he’s thinking of (“Pelican,”) or proudly asserting, “I have hats”—more screentime as a different character wouldn’t have been worth it when he’s so good as this one.

Top Five Roles: Andrew Rannells

Except for the possible exception of season 2 of Girls5eva, which is premiering tomorrow, I’m all caught on Andrew Rannells’s stage, TV, and film career! If he pops up in more Girls5eva episodes, I’ll review those starting next week, but today, I’m looking back at my favorites. Rannells has done some terrific work on a number of characters, and he’s pretty much always great in everything he does. For me, though, these are the cream of the crop.

 

 

Elder Price, The Book of Mormon

Of course, the role that launched Rannells into stardom.  Rannells is delightfully funny as this very earnest but very self-impressed Mormon missionary, an early chance for him to show off his talent for playing the most absurd lines with complete sincerity.  And his singing is just phenomenal here; naturally, this was my first time hearing his voice, and he blew me away.

 

 

Elijah Krantz, Girls

Elijah is ludicrous and terrible, and I adore him.  There’s his bitchy pettiness, his near-total self-absorption, and his aimless hedonism, mixed with oodles of confidence, surprising flashes of vulnerability, and his own weirdly-unexpected brand of loyalty.  Every ridiculous thing that comes out of his mouth is gold, and in Rannells’s hands, the character constantly pops onscreen.

 

Bryan Collins, The New Normal

This isn’t the only time Rannells has played a character that could’ve easily felt like a tired stereotype in lesser hands, but it’s one of my favorites.  Rannells adds just enough of a knowing wink to Bryan’s vanity to make it work, and he sells the silliest lines with aplomb.  Even though the show’s “lesson” moments can be way overwritten, Rannells plays them with honesty and sensitivity, really making them land.  Also, he plays off of Justin Bartha wonderfully; Bryan and David are still one of my absolute favorite fictional same-sex couples.

 

 

Whizzer, Falsettos

I feel like the strong drama of the second act is what gets the brunt of the praise with this role, and to be sure, “You Gotta Die Sometime” is incredible.  But really, I think this performance is, on the whole, more complex than it might seem at first glance.  I’m so glad that Live from Lincoln Center recorded this revival so I could see the layers that Rannells brings to Whizzer.  There are times when he leans into the shallow pretty-boy label, times when you know he’s putting it on to avoid something deeper, times when he chafes against it, and times – often when no one onstage is looking – that he shows the audience he’s more than that.  If it weren’t for “The Games I Play,” I might never have started The Book of Rannells.

 

 

Blair Pfaff, Black Monday

Honestly, I debated between The Boys in the Band and Big Mouth as well for this final spot, which was a good problem to have: basically anything in which Rannells has a major role feels like it ought to be a Top Five contender. In the end, though, I had to go with Black Monday for several reasons. 1) Rannells’s impeccable comedic chemistry with Don Cheadle and Regina Hall. 2) The seamless way he vibes with the chaotic, vulgar absurdity of the show’s sense of humor. And 3) The unexpected moments of depth he brings to Blair, someone who could’ve easily been a pretty ridiculous character.