critics consensus

Brutally honest and utterly compelling, Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me offers a riveting, vanity-free portrait of its legendary subject while offering a few essential truths about the human condition. Read critic reviews

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Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me Photos

Elaine Stritch in "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me."

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Movie Info

Plagued by medical issues and memory lapses, the Broadway icon contemplates retirement and mortality as she approaches her 87th birthday and rehearses for a new show.

Genre:

documentary
Original Language:

English
Director:

Chiemi Karasawa
Producer:

Chiemi Karasawa, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger
Release Date (Theaters):

Feb 21, 2014 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Jan 16, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$303.1K
Runtime:

1h 26m

Cast & Crew

Chiemi Karasawa
Director

Chiemi Karasawa
Producer

Elizabeth Hemmerdinger
Producer

Alec Baldwin
Executive Producer

Cheryl Wiesenfeld
Executive Producer

Shane Sigler
Cinematographer

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Best Reviewed Movies by Genre 2014

Critics Consensus: 3 Days to Kill Misses the Mark

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Critic Reviews for Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

All Critics (67) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (1)

There's something indomitable about her will to perform, and insecurity has been part of her experience for decades, it's clear.

April 2, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…

Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
Chiemi Karasawa deserves all the credit in the world for the intimate and hilarious portrait that is Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, a sparkling cocktail of music and memoir. On the other hand, she didn't exactly have to drag her subject out of her shell.

January 5, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

John Anderson
Newsday
[A] feisty portrait of the musical-theater legend.

January 5, 2015 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
"Elaine Stritch" is filled with bluster and memories, blunt outbursts and funny moments. But more importantly, it is filled with honesty.

April 4, 2014 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Tom Long
Detroit News
Elaine Stritch's strength, along with the film's, comes from her honesty. She is herself, even when - maybe especially when - she knows she's being watched.

March 13, 2014 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post
Really, the experience of "Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me" is the experience of being in Stritch's company for 80 minutes, and that's fine. Still I doubt anyone will walk out of this film wishing it were 10 minutes longer.

March 13, 2014 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
A delight in that we're able to spend time with as rare a creature as Elaine Stritch, but the film's human elements elevate it to greater heights.

April 3, 2019 | Rating: 8.5/10 | Full Review…

Bernard Boo
Way Too Indie
In the same way that disabled and older people shouldn't be called "inspiring" just for living their lives... the film shows us that the effects of aging for [Elaine] Stritch aren't tragic but just inconveniences and obstacles for her to work around.

March 13, 2019 | Full Review…

Ren Jender
Bitch Flicks
What becomes a legend most? In Elaine Stritch's case, it's this riveting, unvarnished documentary portrait of the lioness in winter.

November 29, 2017 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

Stephen Schaefer
Boston Herald
Ultimately, Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me makes you root for her even when you've had your fill of her.

October 25, 2017 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Craig D. Lindsey
INDY Week
For someone who made her Broadway debut 68 years ago, Elaine Stritch is still quite the firecracker.

January 5, 2015 | Rating: A- | Full Review…

Rebecca Jacobson
Willamette Week
As we see Stritch carry on, still performing into her eighties, battling the physical and mental ravages of time, it's obvious she was no sissy.

January 5, 2015 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

View All Critic Reviews (67)

Audience Reviews for Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me

Mar 24, 2014

"Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me" is a cautionary tale about meeting one's hero lest they tell you about the time they had their first orgasm, while acting in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' on stage.(John Turturro looks stunned but I'm pretty sure he's okay.) That kind of tells you the kind of person Elaine Stritch is, aside from being a legendary actor and singer who is a long, long way from being a convent girl in the suburbs of Detroit. The documentary follows her around as she quickly approaches her 87th birthday while looking back periodically and fearing the future, as she copes with the infirmities of old age, along with diabetes and alcoholism. However, that does not stop her from working or from being as feisty or funny as ever.

Walter M Super Reviewer