We all know the name Rita Moreno, but you might need a refresher where. If I were to say Anita from West Side Story, bingo. Now you remember. Or how about Carmela from The Electric Company? Sister Peter Marie Reimondo from HBO’s Oz? How about, EGOT Rita Moreno?
Look, if you’re in our general readership, you might not know Rita Moreno like you might Meryl Streep. You should though! In Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It, you’ll watch original footage, interviews with Rita herself, and hear about her work’s impact from the likes of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freeman, Gloria Estevan, Eva Longoria, and many more.
While she was recently under fire for comments made on Colbert’s show, she has since issued an apology.
If nothing else, this adds to the complex story of Rita Moreno. She is so much to so many, and yet as human and fallible as anyone. Her life is not without its highs and lows, but she’s made it her own.
Trailer Time
Director Mariem Pérez Riera crafts a thorough and smoothly curated story that highlights much of Rita Moreno’s impressive life and work.
I’m glad that of anyone, a Puerto Rican directed this documentary. There’s an authenticity and drive made evident in the compilation of the interviews and clips. You feel that rather than it being an overview of a great actress, it’s an invitation to understand the complexity of Rita’s life. A woman in Hollywood in the 1950s and 60s? That’s bound to produce a good story. A Puerto Rican woman who goes on to be an EGOT winner from that same time? That’s a story you need an insider’s view to tell.
“As a filmmaker, woman and Puerto Rican, I am proud to have the opportunity to tell Rita’s story,” said director Mariem Pérez Riera. “Her many victories in the face of prejudice are an inspiration to me. Hopefully, this film will give strength to the women all over the world, who today, face a similar fight towards equality.”
Rita Takes Center Stage
Before Rita Moreno, there weren’t many Puerto Ricans in the spotlight. As the doc points out, her early career is spent playing women of nearly every ethnicity and culture. She was walking a tightrope above a den of snakes. If she refused those roles, she wasn’t working. If she took those roles, what would it mean for her future? There was so much riding on each choice she made at such a young age.
Casting directors saw her, gave her a role, and then just told her to just seem foreign. Rita developed a universal accent that she used onscreen, whether she be Russian, an islander, or Asian. Not gonna lie, it makes me proud of how far the industry has come, but also sad that there’s still so much more room for improvement. In 40 years when a documentary is made of a current star, future generations are going to look back with the same befuddlement as to why representation was so hard to get right.
Puerto Rico on the Silver Screen
Many, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, talk about seeing Rita Moreno in West Side Story as Anita and being conflicted. Yes, a Puerto Rican was on the big screen and in a hit film! At the same time, as the only Puerto Rican onscreen, Rita was now the archetype for all Puerto Ricans. Anita’s attitude toward Puerto Rico was written to be one of dismissal. Anita, the character, was glad to be in America and off the island. Rita points out when asked about it that the feelings expressed onscreen were Anita’s, not the actress who was reading her lines. Yet, for many Puerto Ricans, they felt betrayed. They felt their country was the butt of a joke, and there was an uphill battle due to the popularity and impact of West Side Story.
This isn’t a sentiment only felt by Puerto Ricans though. Indians who have been typecast due to Apu from The Simpsons or Harold and Kumar, then Jackie Chan for those of Chinese ancestry, each geographic and racial group has their first portrayal onscreen. It’s such a double-edged sword in that they are represented, but oftentimes that representation is more meme than meaningful, more a schtick than a story. Casting directors have to be better. Screenwriters have to be better. Producers have to be better. Studios have to be willing to take a chance on authentic stories and portrayals.
Rita Moreno and the EGOT
The story of Rita Moreno is as much a cautionary tale as it is an inspiration. Her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story won her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962. Then, in 1972, she won the Grammy for Best Children’s Album for The Electric Company. A few years later in 1975, she won the Tony for her performance in The Ritz. Then by 1977 and 1978, she won Primetime Emmys for both The Muppets and Rockford Files.
That’s a lot of award talk that might seem all well, but within the industry, this is big stuff. Yet, for any would be cinephile, let’s put this in perspective. Rita Moreno is only one of sixteen people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Not just nominated, but won each award. Sixteen people. And Rita did it within sixteen years. Truly remarkable.
To the Theaters!
While I’d enjoy retelling the entire documentary feature in this review, I won’t. I was enthralled. Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It kept my attention to the very end. Rita Moreno was born in 1931 and continues to work to this day. Her longevity is as impressive as her impact both onscreen and offscreen. The documentary covers everything from her youth to her later political activism, her relationship with Marlon Brando to her marriage, and so much more.
Go see Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It in theaters on June 18th, 2021!
Synopsis
Over a 70+ year career, Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in “West Side Story” (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.
RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno’s talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for representation and forged the path for new generations of artists.
