Review – Searching for Debra Winger

The concept had a lot of potential: famous Hollywood actresses – particularly though not universally those who at one time made their livings primarily off their looks – talk about the perils of getting old in an industry with little use for older actresses. Occasionally director Rosanna Arquette manages to get in a somewhat interesting discussion with someone like Frances MacDormand (ambushed in a bathroom during the Cannes Film Festival, no less) or get a worthwhile thought or two out of one-on-one or group chat. But for the most part these women are disappointingly insight-free. For openers, many of them communicate mostly in thick psycho-babble, suggesting that extensive therapy long ago rendered them incapable of genuine emotion or other mental processes. Even when valid points about balancing careers and family start to emerge, the wealth and fame factors rob the conversation of any sort of “washing the floors to send you to college” impact. And though Arquette asserts that Debra Winger’s decision to retire from the business served as the impetus for starting the project, she also appears to have been motivated at least in part by poorly-concealed jealousy of her younger sister’s success. Overall this isn’t bad. I just expected something better. Mildly amusing