Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me
Sundance Selects | Release Date: February 21, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
81
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
26
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The PlaylistKatie WalshFeb 24, 2014
Inspirational, entertaining, and absolutely awards-caliber (from first-time director Karasawa), Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me offers up an indelible and rare experience in cinematic form—it’s simply an absolute treat to be able to spend this much intimate time with such a legendary lady. Read full review
100
ObserverRex ReedFeb 19, 2014
At 88, after nearly seven decades in show business, Ms. Stritch is sharp, funny, brittle, caustic, demanding, exaggerated, critical (especially of herself) and infuriating. She is also elaborately unique and awesomely brilliant. Read full review
91
IndieWireEric KohnFeb 20, 2014
The contrast between the movie’s traditional execution and Stritch’s domineering powers create the lingering sense that she may be the project’s true auteur. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanFeb 19, 2014
In Shoot Me, she wears her spiked cynicism like a cutting form of grace, and everyone around her (including audiences) gets healed by it. Read full review
90
The New York TimesStephen HoldenFeb 20, 2014
On a deeper level, Shoot Me is an unflinchingly honest examination of a woman who is aware that the end is approaching. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerMar 6, 2014
This is a must-see for anyone who loves theater, acting and especially individuals like Elaine Stritch unafraid to bare their souls — so all of us can gain more insight into the complicated essence of the human condition. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrMar 6, 2014
She’s a diva — she knows it, we know it, the director knows it — but over the years Stritch seems to have learned that the only way to deal with that is honestly. So she’s a paradox: a diva with no illusions about herself. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMar 6, 2014
To millions, Stritch is the Emmy-winning actress who did "30 Rock," playing Alec Baldwin's mom. Those people who don't know the rest of her story should take the 82 minutes to see this. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 21, 2014
So cheers to a movie as gloriously entertaining and bluntly honest as the lady herself. Everybody rise. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoFeb 21, 2014
Stritch is a documentary subject as fearless and raw as her stage persona. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMar 6, 2014
Chiemi Karasawa's unblinking documentary feature watches Elaine Stritch struggle with the toughest role of her life—being old, and in constantly uncertain health. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMar 6, 2014
Whatever this woman is saying or doing, you want to be there to hear it and see it, and there's no better formula for an entertaining documentary than that. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaMar 6, 2014
The film is nakedly candid, but Stritch is also a ham who is almost always aware of the camera. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 20, 2014
Karasawa captures the flinty, ferocious nature of her subject, Elaine Stritch, with just the right amount of clear-eyed respect. Read full review
80
The DissolveJen ChaneyFeb 20, 2014
Thanks to remarkable access to her subject, and a refusal to turn away during even the most personal moments, Karasawa has made something deeper: a portrait of Stritch just as the aging process is beginning to punch holes in her concrete dam of a personality. Read full review
80
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFeb 18, 2014
The kind of movie fans will be quoting for the rest of their lives, Shoot Me, from director-producer Chiemi Karasawa, is as much a playdate as portrait, a jumble of salty highlights attesting to the pleasure of her company. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 18, 2014
This is a life lived, perhaps not always well, but certainly to the fullest. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 17, 2014
What makes this film such a warm and touching portrait is that it reveals a woman who, even at her lowest, never loses her sense of humor. Read full review
80
VarietyScott FoundasFeb 17, 2014
Karasawa deftly orchestrates the sometimes hairpin tonal shifts, never veering towards the saccharine; if she did, Stritch would probably shoot her. Read full review
75
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMar 13, 2014
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. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMar 13, 2014
Periodically deviating from its fly-on-the-wall aesthetic, the film does a noticeably better job than the Joan Rivers movie of incorporating old footage and photos to underscore its subject’s importance. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMar 7, 2014
I’m not sure that anybody coming to this film to witness her for the first time would necessarily pledge eternal allegiance. Still, she’s sui generis, and in the theatre world, as in life (yes, there is an overlap), that counts for a lot. Read full review
75
New York PostSara StewartFeb 20, 2014
The star gives us a generous and hilarious portrait of life as an aging legend. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubEmily VanDerWerffFeb 19, 2014
Director Chiemi Karasawa is on her best footing when she deals with Stritch not as a Broadway icon and occasional film and TV star, but rather as a woman approaching 90 and holding on thanks to lack of filtering and an indomitable will to perform. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineKenji FujishimaFeb 17, 2014
Chiemi Karasawa's documentary is remarkable for its candor, but it's a brutal honesty that Elaine Stritch herself gladly offers. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 27, 2014
Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me is one of those showbiz docs that’s not exactly pleasurable but offers a penetrating glimpse — sometimes too penetrating — into what it means to eat, drink, and be contrary in the public sphere. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleMar 13, 2014
All this is interesting, or interesting enough, depending on how you feel about Elaine Stritch. If you're a particular fan, this documentary is a must-see. But for everyone else, a little of Elaine's personality goes a long way. Read full review
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