Ryan White directs Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Susan Brown and Jonathan Capehart in this documentary following sex therapist and Eighties celebrity Dr. Ruth on the build up to her 90th birthday.
A brilliant subject for a feature documentary (she’s certainly lived a full life) although this is more a gentle celebration than investigative exploration of her impact on America’s psyche. The hazy animated flashback to her formative years escaping the Nazis and defending her new kibbutz in Israel aren’t to my personal taste. I did kinda wish there was more footage of her giving sex advice (in the Eighties and now) and a little more of the science and thought behind it. I get the feeling this is very much tailored and targeted toward mature ladies who want an unusual icon to fawn over rather than a more journalistic essay on a very special cultural disruptor.
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