Searching for Debra Winger

Starring:Laura Dern, Teri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chiara Mastroianni, Samantha Mathis, Catherine O'Hara, Julia Ormond, Sean Penn, Martha Plimpton, Charlotte Rampling, Theresa Russell, Ally Sheedy, Adrienne Shelly, Sharon Stone, JoBeth Williams, Debra Winger, Alfre Woodard
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Searching for Debra Winger is a thought-provoking documentary in which Golden Globe-nominated actress Rosanna Arquette talks to the film industry's most talented and award-winning actresses about the pressures they face as women working in show business.

System Requirements:

Running Time 99 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Average customer rating:

Arquette's Personal Quest Turns Into a Meandering, Self-Indulgent Look at Hollywood Sexism
Missed Opportunity
Two stars for Martha Plimpton
BORING
Not in the Same League with Bowling for Columbine?

Searching for Debra Winger
Starring: Laura Dern , Teri Garr , Whoopi Goldberg , Daryl Hannah , and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000190776
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Product Description

Searching for Debra Winger is a thought-provoking documentary in which Golden Globe-nominated actress Rosanna Arquette talks to the film industry's most talented and award-winning actresses about the pressures they face as women working in show business.

System Requirements:

Running Time 99 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Arquette's Personal Quest Turns Into a Meandering, Self-Indulgent Look at Hollywood Sexism.......2006-06-05

In 1996's "The First Wives Club", Goldie Hawn, as an aging actress, has a piercingly perceptive line courtesy of screenwriter Robert Harling, "In Hollywood, women only have three ages: babe, district attorney, and 'Driving Miss Daisy'". Actress Rosanna Arquette has decided to explore this unfortunately true perspective in her 2002 documentary where she speaks with thirty-five renowned actresses of varying ages. Even though it's doubtful any of them are facing economic hardship, their dilemmas would still make a worthy subject for a film, but she makes it such an overly personalized odyssey over her own tenuous success as a 43-year old actress and mother that she is unable to provide anything significantly insightful on the topic.

Instead, we are left with a film with some revealing moments but more commonly, a haphazard structure of interview snippets that seem to make the same set of points over and over again - the incessant struggle to find good roles for women past forty, the precarious balance between managing a career and raising a family, and the myopia of profit-minded studio executives interested in what teenage males want to see (at least according to film critic Roger Ebert, the only male interviewed). The problem is that Arquette, as a documentarian, cannot provide much-needed objectivity to her subject, as she repeatedly interjects with her personal experiences when she is not fawning over her subjects. Her lack of discipline extends into her editing as there is no sense of organization to her narrative other than how she came upon the actresses, whether proactively seeking them out individually, organizing lunches (like what Jon Favreau does with his TV series, "Dinner for Five") or happening upon them at Cannes (like surprising a thankfully good-humored Frances McDormand in the ladies room). Truth be told, some come off quite badly as they fumble through unformed thoughts or mind-numbing analogies. Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow and Emmanuelle Béart come to mind.

Some like Robin Wright Penn and Charlotte Rampling reveal so little about themselves that their inclusion provides questionable value, and a self-consciously glamorous Sharon Stone comes across as rather disingenuous when she talks about her abandonment of vanity. But others provide nuggets of wisdom like Holly Hunter, Diane Lane, Salma Hayek, Martha Plimpton (who has forsaken movies for the stage) and a predictably funny Whoopi Goldberg. Leave it to veterans Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda to offer the film's most honest, insightful comments, the latter especially revealing in how former husband Ted Turner encouraged her retirement and then sharing how she feels when she nails a pivotal scene in a movie. Fortunately, Debra Winger, whose self-imposed (and ultimately short-lived) retirement inspired the film's eponymous title, shows herself to be the trenchantly sardonic, perceptive non-conformist she obviously is. The film really contains very little when it comes to revelations about the inherent sexism of the film industry, and Arquette's personal catharsis frankly does not resonate enough to make the film worthwhile. Other than some trailers, the DVD has no extras.

Missed Opportunity.......2006-04-12

Searching for Debra Winger woulda, coulda, shoulda. What a complete disappointment for me to see famous actresses given the chance to peel away their manufactured facade for a few minutes only to be constantly interrupted by the interviewer who is a poor listener at best and one who obviously did no home work due to the fact that she kept asking, either the same question over and over again or injecting her opinion inside a question 'trying' to be answered.

There was a moment in the Russian Tea Room that should have set the tone for this documentary. Instead it was completely ignored which is a feeling that runs throughout this docu. The majority of these women's opinions were reduced to sound bites. It was embarrassing when Holly Hunter who is in a word that was constantly used and used again, awesome, have her moment interrupted by the interviewer (shocker there) by injecting "I want to see them." Poor, extremely poor and a good reason why there are journalist and actors and they are not one in the same.

What a shame.

Two stars for Martha Plimpton.......2006-03-10

The best part of this film was seeing Martha Plimpton - one of the most underrated actresses in Hollywood, smoking a cigarette and forcefully expressing her wish to see great characters in film for women. That was worth the price of admission. The rest...eh.
Most of these actresses are average at best, and managed to secure a great career because of their looks. Not one of them could be described as unattractive. But when 40 looms closer, suddenly the roles aren't there. This is unfair. What's really unfair, is that most of these women got roles in the FIRST PLACE because of their beauty, while their lesser-attractive counterpart had to take a job at Starbucks. Never do any of them mention this - that plain women, short women, women of colour - have almost no roles available to them. There is one token black actress in this documentary (Alfre Woodard) and one Latina (Salma Hayak). The rest are white, and mostly blonde.

Their scope of reference is incredibly narrow, insufferably self-absorbed, and lacking any real analysis. Acting is not high art, yet these actresses kept referring to their "craft", their "passion", etc. as though it were an out-of-control compulsion. Their films have not changed the world. And hearing how "hard" it is to do one crummy film a year while raising children was especially disturbing. It's as though these women have absolutely nothing else on the ball - no other hobbies, passions, talents, etc. The saddest part was seeing Theresa Russell - an excellent actress - talk about running out of money. Surely, there is something else she could do.

The sexism, ageism, and racism in Hollywood is appalling, no doubt. Therefore, these smart, rich women should get together and start writing their own scripts, their own movies, and getting their stories seen and heard on their own.

BORING.......2006-01-14

Don't buy this, I did and sold it back. It's okay to watch once maybe, but not to buy. The first 30 min are pretty good,but the rest of the film are just the same old thing and nothing really interesting. BLAH!

Not in the Same League with Bowling for Columbine?.......2006-01-08

More like not even from the same planet. Folks, this abysmal "documentary" is served up by Rosanna Arquette and is a ridiculously piss-poor attempt at revealing "ageism" or "sexism" or something-ism coming out of modern Hollywood.

First, Arquette needs to go to film school. She was in way over her head with this "project." Her ego and obvious lack of interviewing skills made some scenes difficult to watch.

Second, somebody needs to tell Arquette that nepotism is NEVER a good idea. Loading up your film crew to attend a Cannes film festival showing of your sister's "work" is low-brow and insulting to the viewer. Discussing how "proud" your parents would be of you and your sister is not germane to the subject matter and more than a little patronizing to the audience. Christ on a crutch, Arquette, sentimentalizing your own life in the context of a documentary film discussing ageism in Hollywood is completely inappropriate and unprofessional.

The best scenes in the film were with Jane Fonda. A more appropriate title for this film would have been "Getting Some Good Insights from Jane Fonda." Fonda's discussion of those rare moments during filming when an actor becomes one with the set, the other actors, the director, their inner and outer creative forces -- that few minutes of discussion were the highlight of the whole film. Fonda discussing intimacy - also somewhat interesting, especially coming from someone whose been in the business as long as she has, hearing about her sacrifices and what it meant to her - that was pretty good stuff.

Winger contributed very little to the film. And most of the film was just an ego-driven cacophony of dye-blonde botoxed-up middle-aged mediocre actresses discussing how to deal with their kids and families. (Are we really supposed to take Kelly Lynch and Daryl Hannah seriously? Has anyone ever taken these babes seriously? Really, Hannah was great as Kennedy Jr.'s girlfriend---but as a serious actress? Please.) McDormand didn't seem like she took any of it seriously. Rampling seemed bored or uninterested, or maybe there was a little prima donna stuff going on with her - she seemed detached from the process.

You have to wonder what the reactions of these actresses were when they were approached by Arquette to participate in the project. Redgrave? Jane Fonda? Charlotte Rampling? These are heavyweights in the business, people, and Rosanna Arquette is...who? It seems entirely reasonable that some of the other heavies, like Streep, Sarandon, and Jodie Foster would have turned her down after laughing uproariously over the concept. Or maybe they were just busy working, something that would leave Arquette wondering why she would be making a film about women of a certain age being unable to get work in Hollywood.

For documentaries, stick with Michael Moore. Arquette hasn't got any chops and, at least at this time, seems ill-equipped to handle the challenges of any substantive issue in a documentary film.

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