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At 89 years old, Rita Moreno is one of the longest lasting—if not the longest lasting— Latina movie star from the old Hollywood era; and seventy years into her career, she’s still going. Following her 2011 autobiography, Rita Moreno: A Memoir, we now get Mariem Pérez Riem’s documentary, Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, chronicling Moreno’s story on screen. As far as documentaries go, Riem’s film does as much as it can in just 90 minutes to remind us why the Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer is a legend.
Like most biographical retrospectives, we get Moreno’s life told through her own words as well as a group of talking heads associated with her life and career. For a relatively short documentary, Just a Girl tackles every angle to represent its subject accurately. We move from seeing little 5 year old Rita and her single mother immigrating from Juncos, PR to New York City; to her big movie break in Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly’s retro musical Singin’ in the Rain (1952); to her Oscar winning performance in Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise’s epic musical West Side Story (1961); to Rita’s popular work on PBS’ sketch-comedy “The Electric Company” (1971-77); to finally her more recent appearances on Netflix’s revival of the famous sitcom “One Day at a Time” (2017-2020). In between all this we also get some more serious discussions and revelations on what Moreno experienced behind the scenes.
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Riem’s doc is a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, to the point of almost whiplash during some moments. The opening where we see Moreno go from struggling outsider to contract player at a major movie studio, MGM, is inspirational. But then immediately we are given rather dark, in-depth memories of Moreno’s experiences of sexual assault in her 20s. She has steady work as the token woman of color in flicks (as practically all races except white) at the beginning of her career, much to her chagrin. Things start looking up when the entertainer wins Best Supporting Actress for playing a well-written character of her own nationality, and not long after, she finds love with her husband and father of her daughter.
Seeing Moreno beat all odds through her artistic craft, as well as conquering motherhood and motivational work through civil and women’s rights over the decades, makes Just a Girl uplifting. It’s easy to see why her peers like George Chakiris, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor and Justina Machado speak so fondly of her in the documentary. If you’re a fan of musicals, film history and inspirational real-life stories, Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It is worth a view this month.
Have you seen Rita Moreno’s new documentary yet? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!
For More Of What We’ve Been Watching, You Should Read:
Netflix’s “I Am All Girls” Shines A Light On Sex Trafficking
Michaela Coel’s “I May Destroy You” Courageously Explores The Issue Of Consent
