'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me' is an enjoyably fawning documentary
'Stritch' is directed by Chiemi Karasawa.
Elaine Stritch stars in the documentary 'Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me.'
Sundance Selects/AP
At 87, Elaine Stritch, usually referred to as 鈥淏roadway legend Elaine Stritch,鈥� is still going strong 鈥� sort of. Relocated to her hometown of Detroit after living more than half a century in New York, she is the subject of an enjoyably fawning documentary, 鈥淓laine Stritch: Just Shoot Me,鈥� directed by Chiemi Karasawa. Stritch鈥檚 show-biz career is not particularly well documented on film; clips from her Broadway successes (like 鈥淐ompany鈥�) are necessarily skimpy. Mostly what we get here is Stritch playing to the hilt her role as a somewhat addled lioness in winter.
I鈥檓 not sure that anybody coming to this film to witness her for the first time would necessarily pledge eternal allegiance. Still, she鈥檚 sui generis, and in the theatre world, as in life (yes, there is an overlap), that counts for a lot. Grade: B (Unrated.)