RAISE HELL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS – Review

Last week I extolled the pleasures of a new documentary feature focused on a very talented singer, Ms. Linda Ronstadt. And this weekend sees the release of another “entertainment personality” doc. Now, it’s not another singer or musician this time. No, it’s not an actress or actor (though, to reference the old line “the world’s a stage”, for her it was more about one American state). And it’s not a painter (though, yes she “painted with words”) or a comedian (even her detractors would have to admit that she was very witty). As you’ve no doubt concluded, this film is all about a writer, not of plays or books (well, collections of her essays became bestsellers), rather she toiled away in the “fourth estate”, newspapers. Yes twenty-somethings, just decade or two ago, folks got their news on folded paper, not this monitor screen or on an app. Some of the writers of columns (usually in the editorial section) became stars, with papers fighting over their services (this happened with comic strip creators in their heyday) and promoting them on billboards along with those other media outlets, radio, and TV. Here’s the true tale of one of the last “ink” superstars: RAISE HELL: THE LIFE AND TIME OF MOLLY IVINS.

In the explosive opening scenes, we see Ms. Ivins at the top of her game, sending Davis Letterman leaning back in his chair, roaring with laughter on his old CBS late-night talk show. After a few more media snippets and speeches we get the basic biofacts on her. Born in 1944, she was the second daughter of a tough, hard-drinking no-nonsense oil and gas exec she nicknamed “the General”. His far-right attitudes inspired Ivins to question, and rebel against authority. The news-writing bug bit her while in high school, and led her to several college papers in her academic career, even studying in Paris before her degree at Columbia’s School of Journalism. Then it was back to Texas with the Houston Chronicle, leading to a staff position way up north at the Minneapolis Tribune, annoying bosses and readers with her pieces on the rising 60s hippie movement. But the “Lone Star” state kept drawing her back like a magnet. During her time with the Texas Observer, folklorist John Henry Faulk became a mentor and future governor Ann Richards became a BFF. During a tenure at the Rocky Mountain Times, her coverage of Elvis Presley’s funeral caught the attention of the big leagues, namely the New York Times. But the “Grey Lady” balked at Ivins’ double entendres (the “chicken” story is a hoot). Luckily her home still wanted her, with an offer from the Dallas Times Herald to write about anything she wanted. That “anything” was mainly Texas society and the wacky hi-jinks of the state legislature. As Ivins’ popularity grew, she relied on the bottle too much, often getting the “rep” as a “mean nasty drunk”. Her columns were soon syndicated around the country to nearly 400 papers, as Texas politics became America’s politics with the rise of the Bush family dynasty (she dubbed George W. “shrub”). As her book collections became bestsellers, Ivins had to face her biggest challenge when aggressive cancer struck her at the end of the 90s. This never dimmed her formidable intelligence and caustic wit.

Filmmaker Janice Engel, in her feature film debut, with an assist from co-writer Monique Zavistovski, has put together a breezy, fast-paced look at the life of one of the greatest commentators (politics and life itself) of the last sixty or so years. The stills of Ivins’ early family and academic life are quite astounding, tweaked by the effects to seem to move and “push out” towards us, but Engels “fudges’ a bit with reenactments (hands poring glasses, “rowdies” cavorting, etc.) though none are too intrusive. And luckily there’s lots of footage of the subject, aside from the Letterman clip, she seems to have been a fixture of the cable channel C-SPAN II. A couple of times, detractors get through on the “question phone line”, their insults are like “water off the back of duck” to Ivins as she appears to almost roll her eyes with a sigh of “oh well”. Plus there are lots of clips of her at the podium, amusing big crowds, and at book signings in more intimate spaces. And yes, we get the “talking heads”, but there’s a wide variety of interviewees, ranging from co-workers and family to adoring fellow Texas news folks like Jim Hightower and Dan Rather and one inspired current political reporter, Rachel Maddow. The warmest words come from archival footage of the late Ms. Richards, who recalls the “wild times” with a twinkle in her eye, coming off almost like a sorority sister. The film’s biggest strength is Ivins’ own retelling of some legendary encounters, first with the “uptight” editors and management of the New York Times (how did they think she would be a “good fit”), then with the Texas lawmakers. The funniest example may be their zeal to “shut down” the gay community by banning a certain…act. Then deciding that married heterosexual couples can’t “enjoy” it also. In the third act, the story gets emotional as Ivins comes to grips with her alcohol abuse (seeing too many hard-drinking “newshounds” in old movies like Bogie in DEADLINE U.S.A.), then the fights against the cancer that would claim her a dozen years ago. Here the “congressional court jester” becomes a true flawed, but a heroic human being, unafraid to be seen with little or no hair, a “Hellraiser” to her last breath (or typed line). The stories of those final days from her devoted brother Andy are quite moving. Her last quote is a resounding call to action, one that needs to be heard in these turbulent times with the press under attack (I have a feeling she’d be sporting an “Enemy of the People” button or shirt today). RAISE HELL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS is itself quite inspiring, essential viewing for political “junkies” and newsprint fanatics. The film just makes you wish she were still with us. Can you imagine the “Twitter war” with ….you know who?

3 Out of 4 Stars

RAISE HELL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre