Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Niklas Pivic I didn't know of Fran Liebowitz, a famed New Yorker, Jewish writer, infamous wit. As this documentary starts, she states that "There is no more suitable and potent image/symbol for our time than the image of the blind art collector. [...] I think that sums it up. If you were gonna write just a history of the era, you should call it 'The blind art collector, and other stories'." She talks much, and says a lot. She is really funny and insightful, which I cannot claim that a lot of people are. She keeps going and going, and does claim a lot of air and concentration, so she works for me in small doses. As a documentary, it's all about Liebowitz's speaking and very little else. She's all there is to this, and it's entertaining as well as thought-provoking. She says racism is a fantasy, while sexism is a reality. She speaks out on getting older as well as being young, on writing and talking, on acceptance and hate. Not much on love, though. All in all, totally worth watching.

Greg Debniak I have been reading, here and there, quotes from Fran Lebowitz for decades, not really knowing who she was.She is a virtuoso at cutting through the haze and nonsense of American culture to expose the ludicrous truths beneath. I've always felt sort of silly, being American, and now I know why. Thank you, Fran, for putting into words what any well-traveled American already knows in their heart but can't quite verbalize.We need people like Fran to give us an honest look at ourselves and knock some of the pompous self-righteousness out of us now and then. Thank you, Fran and Mr. Scorsese.

adrienne_aline Fran Leboits is an uncommon woman. The film is basically one long, casual interview.She's a fast-talking, witty, very opinionated, intriguing story-teller. Her humor reminds me of a less crass, less cynical version of George Carlin. She talks about being a woman, the biological inequality of women (which I rarely get to hear anywhere), homosexuality, the military, marriage, her cigarette addiction, "elites", American culture, democracy, a little bit of everything. Instead of ramming her Jewish background down your throat, she makes humorous, poignant observations. Definitely check it out, especially if you live in or around NYC.

Michael_Elliott Public Speaking (2010) *** (out of 4) This HBO documentary caught my attention because Martin Scorsese's name was attached to it so that alone was reason enough for me to order the station. The so-called documentary is more like an intimate interview with writer Fran Lebowitz who is best known for her books Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. She's also known for her rather dry wit as well as her sometimes outspoken views on race, life and writers in general. This latest documentary from Scorsese really isn't a film that tries to teach you anything. I'll admit that I had never heard of Lebowitz so perhaps I was in a disadvantage going into this film but in the end I really don't think I learned anything about the woman. That's not to say this film isn't educational but I think it's main goal was just to showcase the woman and not necessarily give us her life story. We briefly hear her talk about her early life, her days in NYC and various things she did before she became famous but we usually hear these parts as they connect to something else. Lebowitz talks about people who feel that NYC was better before it became a tourist attraction. We hear her talk about the good that came from Obama being elected and the joke is that it was good simply because we don't have to keep wondering when the first black President would be elected. She gives her views on why writers should know something. We hear about smokers, people who write books when they shouldn't and of course she touches on a wide range of subjects. Lebowitz is shown at a couple public speaking events and she's also interviewed by Scorsese and another man sitting at a table. Did this film make me interested in Lebowitz? It did to a point but I don't think I'm going to be a life long fan thanks to the film. As usual Scorsese does a nice job and I really enjoyed the way he edited the piece by jumping from one interview to the next and constantly keeping everything going at a fast pace. The film runs 82-minutes and there's quite a bit covered in the rather short running time. Again, I'm sure Lebowitz has many die-hard fans out there and I'm positive they're going to love seeing her in an intimate session.