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Being Mary Tyler Moore

Play trailer 2:25 Poster for Being Mary Tyler Moore 2023 1h 59m Documentary Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Chronicling the vanguard career of Mary Tyler Moore, weaving her personal narrative with the beats of her professional accomplishments, highlighting her groundbreaking roles and the indelible impact she had on generations of women who came after her.
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Being Mary Tyler Moore

Being Mary Tyler Moore

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Critics Consensus

Being Mary Tyler Moore is an entertaining yet unflinching documentary which blends celebration with candor, using Moore's own voice to illuminate both her joyful cultural legacy and the complexities beneath her carefully crafted public image.

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Critics Reviews

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Claudia Puig FilmWeek (LAist) 06/06/2023
Even if you don't have personal connections [to Mary Tyler Moore], it will resonate. Go to Full Review
Ty Burr Ty Burr's Watch List (Substack) 05/27/2023
2.5/4
An agreeable, bog-standard bio-documentary that will probably leave you a weepy mess if you have any emotional corner in your heart reserved for Laura Petrie, Mary Richards, or even chilly Beth Jarrett from “Ordinary People.” Go to Full Review
Brian Lowry CNN.com 05/26/2023
As these productions go “Being Mary Tyler Moore” doesn’t quite catch fire, but it does provide a warming glow in celebrating a signature talent who did, indeed, make it after all. Go to Full Review
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice 12/09/2023
4.5/5
Biopicture with film clips showcasing the multi-talented pioneering tv and film actress. Go to Full Review
James Croot The Post NZ 10/20/2023
4/5
As James Adolphus’ entertaining, enlightening, insightful and emotional two-hour look at the multi-storied life and career of Mary Tyler Moore reveals, the journey to landing the role of Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show hadn’t exactly been smooth. Go to Full Review
Michael Clark Epoch Times 08/12/2023
4.5/5
Moore was a complex and imperfect person who was never afraid to portray characters with the same traits. She lived a life that yielded great rewards, but it also included significant devastating setbacks. “Being” offers a near-perfect balance of both. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Nick E. @nicksmovies93 Jul 17 An endearing look at a television icon. See more Dena B 10/22/2023 Love Rob Reiner infinity. See more Alan W 07/20/2023 Conventional and chronologically structured biographical account of the actor/performer charting her rise to fame through two classic U.S. sitcoms of the 60s and 70s, HBO Max's Being Mary Tyler Moore juxtaposes her modern portrayal of, first a housewife to Dick Van Dyke and then as an independent career woman in her own show, with the rise of feminism and how the portrayal of women pivots, at least on the small screen, to play tribute to a pioneering TV career. Beyond that, the film is more descriptive and less penetrating, especially with her personal life and her marriages which feels a little fudged over. However, for someone like me, who only has a passing knowledge of her as I've not really grown up with her shows, it serves as a fascinating but perhaps cursory introduction to the groundbreaking actor's life and work. See more Scott Toaden M 07/01/2023 I love MTM. This doc was a disappointment. It was 2 hours that could have been under 45 minutes. It was pretty jumbled and it looses it's focus several times not knowing what kind of documentary it wants to me. It is fun to watch for the audio clips from her and many celbs and people they knew her (mostly without video). This one is for the fans and people just wanting to look at women icons of 60s/70s to waste some time but it drags on . .. . Most disappointing is how it wastes so much time on repeating things and skips over important information. For example it mentions MTM's diabetes but doesn't talk about it till the end and it focuses on that for long time repeating things . . . Also mentions MTM Enterprises but none of the other shows they produced or how she worked with people on other shows. . . . it also skips over many issues she had. It just wasn't good and was a let down. See more Megan e 05/28/2023 I really admire Mary Tyler Moore. I did not grow up watching her shows, but I've realized, and it was really highlighted in this documentary, how much of what I watched in the last forty years was inspired and followed her lead. Definitely worth watching! See more Brent M 05/27/2023 To say that iconic actress/dancer/comedienne Mary Tyler Moore was a gifted, complicated, reserved, often-misunderstood individual is indeed an understatement. However, director James Adolphus's new HBO documentary presents a reverent, insightful and respectfully candid biography of the famed star of TV, stage and screen, showing Moore in all of her magnificent multidimensionality. As the winner of seven Emmys, three Golden Globes, a special Tony Award and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as an Oscar nomination for her tremendous lead performance in "Ordinary People" (1980), she significantly changed the face of television comedy and demonstrated a degree of acting versatility rarely seen. In her TV roles as Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, she opened doors for actresses by portraying characters who hadn't been seen on the little screen before. And, in a wider sense, in her role as Mary Richards, she significantly bolstered the growth of the women's movement in the world at large, a role she championed despite her own somewhat conventional off-screen lifestyle, a way of life for which she was often criticized by feminists. However, Moore's personal life often ran counter to the perky, cheerful on-screen persona she routinely projected, and she rarely spoke openly about the many challenges she faced – a sometimes-troubled relationship with her parents, two divorces, the loss of her only son in a gun shot accident, the untimely deaths of her two younger siblings, alcohol abuse and coping with complications from type 1 diabetes. As she aged, however, the fighter within her found ways to work through the anguish, such as choosing projects that enabled her to purge her pain, receiving treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic, becoming an advocate for her favorite causes and finding true love in a third marriage. The filmmaker tells Moore's complex, moving and inspiring story with an array of clips from her work, archive interview footage with renowned journalists and celebrities, and ample voiceover observations from those who knew her and admired her work. The narrative is admittedly somewhat straightforward and formulaic, but it presents an excellent composite of images and insights into the life and work of a legend, one that's bound to cause her to be seen in a new light and could well introduce her to a new generation of fans who may not have previously been aware of her many accomplishments. Take a bow, Mary. See more Read all reviews
Being Mary Tyler Moore

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Movie Info

Synopsis Chronicling the vanguard career of Mary Tyler Moore, weaving her personal narrative with the beats of her professional accomplishments, highlighting her groundbreaking roles and the indelible impact she had on generations of women who came after her.
Director
James Adolphus
Producer
James Adolphus, Debra Martin Chase, Andrew Coles, Laura Gardner, Rishi Rajani, Ben Selkow, Lena Waithe
Distributor
HBO
Production Co
HBO Documentary Films, Fifth Season, Hillman Grad
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 26, 2023
Runtime
1h 59m
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