Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

To Be Takei

Play trailer Poster for To Be Takei Released Jan 13, 2014 1h 33m Documentary LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Together with his husband Brad, actor-activist George Takei parlays his remarkable acting career and wicked sense of humor into a new role as beloved pop-culture icon and Internet phenomenon.
To Be Takei

What to Know

Critics Consensus

To Be Takei rests almost entirely on its subject's inherent likability -- and, for the most part, that's more than enough.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (47) Critics Reviews
Kristy Puchko CinemaBlend Director Jennifer M. Kroot delivers something that is as profound as it is funny and uplifting. Rated: 3.5/5 Sep 5, 2014 Full Review Eric Kohn indieWire With his trademark baritone and focused diction, Takei is a natural storyteller who lends an enjoyable flow to the movie's uncomplicated proceedings. Rated: B- Sep 3, 2014 Full Review Richard Roeper Chicago Sun-Times To Be Takei is a celebration of a man of great resilience, infectious humor, a voracious appetite for the richness of the human experience, and the best laugh in the history of laughing. Rated: 3.5/4 Sep 3, 2014 Full Review Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See A hilarious, agreeable, ultimately very intimate look into the actor's life. Rated: B+ Jul 7, 2020 Full Review Josh Goller Spectrum Culture While To Be Takei educates and entertains, much of the 90-minute runtime seems like filler. Rated: 2.75/5 Jul 18, 2019 Full Review Mae Abdulbaki Punch Drunk Critics To Be Takei is as natural as Takei is in front of the camera and during public speeches. It's vibrant, interesting, and enjoyable. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 14, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (85) audience reviews
Audience Member A very fascinating and likable film, much like its subject. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member A well-made documentary about one of the nicest and iconic actors of all time. I liked it a lot. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member An entertaining and playful documentary about the actor/activist. The charming Takei is shamelessly willing to engage in this type of self-promotion even though as nearly the youngest (behind Koenig) of the original cast of Star Trek he is hardly reaching the end of his career. We get the inside scoop about his childhood and his relationship with husband Brad. We observe his current life of fan convention appearances and being a social media sensation. We learn how his Broadway show Allegiance originated. And we teasingly gather that there is a bit of antagonism between George and William Shatner. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member I truly admire George Takei. He's a gay activist. He's of Japanese descent. He's a clever and informed political commentator. He starred in Star Trek. After all, I'm a gay Japanophile who's interested in politics, as well as an obsessive Star Trek fan. An equation of the easiest order. Documentary filmmaker Jennifer M. Kroot has a technically modest but in many ways heartwarming film in "To Be Takei". There are very few cinematic accomplishments here; this is a documentary that is made good by its subject only. Takei comes across as a completely charming, disarming, witty and eloquent intellectual. There are many points of laughter as well as moments inviting contemplation. The optimism and warmth of Takei are lovely to behold, as well as his sharp, witty responses to homophobic oppressors and Star Trek nemesis William Shatner. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member George Takei probably has more of a presence social media than anyone else his age. At 77, he has become a ubiquitous fixture of both Facebook and Twitter so much so that he is probably more prolific and well-known now than he was in the 40 years that he spent being billed fifth in his most famous role as Mr. Sulu on the original "Star Trek" TV show. For those who only know Takei as Sulu, the documentary To Be Takei comes as sort of a cold water treatment. It is a history lesson, the fascinating story of a man who fought a personal battle on three fronts, first as an Asian-American locked away in one of FDR's internment camps with his family during World War II which subsequently cost them their home and business; then later as an actor trying to break away from the Asian stereotypes he was forced to play; and finally, attempting to keep his acting career going while hiding the fact that he was gay. Several times throughout this documentary, he returns to the memories of the Japanese Internment Camps and reminds us "I remember those barbed-wire fences." Based on his experience, we gather that he means this both literally and metaphorically. So it is sort of fitting that now, at 77, George Takei is as happy as anyone of any age. Flashbacks to his early struggles are juxtaposed with his present-day life with his business partner Brad Altman whom he married in 2008. They're complete opposites - George is impulsive and unpredictable while Brad is fussy and organized - they come off, well, like an old married couple. George laughs a lot, and jokes about some of his own misfortunes. He's not shy about his orientation (he refuses to call it a lifestyle) and, admittedly, some of his divulged sexual history gets a little TMI. The movie is very adamant about showing us that, despite his struggles, George Takei didn't simply sit on the canvas and let his roadblocks define him. In moving past the Asian stereotype to get his acting career going, he found work in 1966 on a Wagon Train-type television series called "Star Trek" in which he was cast in a key role, not in a servile position, but as the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise - of this, Takei jokes the he helped to break the stereotype about bad Asian drivers. On the front of his sexual orientation, he became an activist, helping to pass California's Equal Rights Marriage Bill. On the issue of his family's incarceration, he responded by getting the United States government to apologize for its wrong-doings. Of course, that's not all that the movie is about. Between the activism and the politics, George Takei still finds time to embrace the geeksphere, visiting one convention and then another, one day in Nashville, then in some Podunk town nobody ever heard of. He's prolific and we see very open interviews with him deflating Howard Stern's barbs about his sexuality, and later planning a bizarre, but well-meaning, musical called "Allegiance" about his imprisonment. His former "Star Trek" cast members are befuddled by his career second wind, including an ebullient Nichelle "Uhura" Nichols, a down-cast Walter "Chekov" Keonig, a sort-of distant Leonard Nimoy, and of course Shatner who seems to barely remember George or anything about him (he comes off in this film like a jerk). The relationship between Shatner and Takei is prickly at best. Driving past a billboard featuring The Shat with tape over his mouth, Takei scoffs "as it should be." To Be Takei is interesting if a bit conventional. As filmmaking it's not ground-breaking, but getting to know the life and times of George Takei is a fascinating ride. You're happy to get to know him beyond his signature role, and he makes us all with that we could be as happy and jovial when we reach his age. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member FANTASTIC MOVIE!! I've always loved George! He tells it like it is and he doesn't sugarcoat things. (Line from the movie: George-"I can see you've put on some weight since the last time we say each other!" Brad just looks shocked and just shakes his head back and forth! LOL) We need more people like him in this world. Also how cute are him and Brad? You can just feel the love between them. I never knew how bad his childhood was till this movie. I can't imagine how hard it was to grow up in a place surrounded by wire and men with guns. George is the type of person who should be a child's (and adults) role model. Not Miley Cyrus or someone like that. This film is definitely a MUST WATCH!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews
To Be Takei

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Do I Sound Gay? 82% 47% Do I Sound Gay? Watchlist The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin 92% 86% The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin Watchlist TRAILER for The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin Making the Boys 95% 80% Making the Boys Watchlist Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood 85% 57% Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Watchlist TRAILER for Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Outrage 79% 76% Outrage Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Together with his husband Brad, actor-activist George Takei parlays his remarkable acting career and wicked sense of humor into a new role as beloved pop-culture icon and Internet phenomenon.
Director
Jennifer M. Kroot, Bill Weber
Producer
Gerry Kim, Mayuran Tiruchelvam, Jennifer M. Kroot, Tina Kroot
Screenwriter
Jennifer M. Kroot
Production Co
Dodgeville Films, Rainbow Shooting Star Pictures
Genre
Documentary, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 13, 2014, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 30, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$51.5K
Runtime
1h 33m