RBG (2018)

The exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.

Directors:

Julie Cohen, Betsy West

Stars:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ann Kittner, Harryette Helsel

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 49 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg	...	Self
Ann Kittner	...	Self - Childhood Friend
Harryette Helsel	...	Self - Childhood Friend
Stephen Wiesenfeld	...	Self - Plaintiff
Bill Clinton	...	Self - 42nd U.S. President (as President Bill Clinton)
John Howard Lawson	...	Self - Screenwriter (archive footage)
Brenda Feigen	...	Self - Harvard Law School Graduate
Sharron Frontiero	...	Self - Plaintiff (as Sharron Frontino Cohen)
James Steven Ginsburg	...	Self - Son (as James Ginsburg)
Jane C. Ginsburg	...	Self - Daughter (as Jane Ginsburg)
Lisa Beattie Frelinghuysen	...	Self - Former Clerk
Mary Hartnett	...	Self - Biographer
Orrin Hatch	...	Self - US Senator - R Utah (as Senator Orrin Hatch)
Bryant Johnson	...	Self - Fitness Trainer
Aryeh Neier	...	Self - Former Director - American Civil LIberties Union

Storyline

At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans - until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.

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Plot Keywords:

opera lover | judge | u.s. supreme court | litigation | gender equality | 

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Taglines:

Hero. Icon. Dissenter.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Whilst making the film, directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen asked Ruth Bader Ginsburg how she'd like to be remembered. On the day that Ginsberg died in September 2020, West and Cohen revealed her answer. She'd said: "Just as someone who did whatever she could, with whatever limited talent she had, to move society along in the direction I would like it to be for my children and grandchildren".

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Quotes

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: I was terribly, terribly nervous. But then, I looked up at the Justices, and I thought, 'I have a captive audience.' I knew that I was speaking to men who didn't think there was any such thing as gender-based discrimination, and my job was to tell them: it really exists.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits include: "Martin Ginsburg Award for Supportive Husbanding Paul Barrett Oren Jacoby Jorge Aguirre"

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Connections

Referenced in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: Oscars 2019 Recap (2019)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II Allegretto
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

Interesting person, Terrible One-Sided Propoganda Documentary

If I were to rate this documentary solely on the basis of its subject, I would give it a 10. RBG is a very interesting person, who has had a profound impact on the law, and it is worth learning about her regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum. Nonetheless, this documentary is extremely one-sided and intentionally leaves out important facts, or distorts them, solely to make its point.

First, by only viewing this documentary, one would think that her husband gave up his legal career to support RBG and cook dinner for her and the kids. The truth is that he had a very successful legal career as a tax lawyer and tenured professor at Columbia Law School. He did move to DC to be with RBG, but became a law professor at Georgetown Law School, not some house husband. The documentary mentions that RBG was shy and that it was needed for her husband to sing her praises during Senate confirmation. What it doesn't tell you is that her husband was the attorney for future Presidential Candidate and billionaire Ross Perot, and that Perot lobbied hard to get her nominated, as a way to return the favor for the hundreds of millions of dollars Ginsburg was able to save him. Perot's influence on Republicans, as well as lobbying by the Jewish community, is what allowed her to be so easily confirmed. The documentary makes it seem like she was confirmed 96-3 because she was so exemplary that she overcame political partisanship. But it's important to remember that Scalia was confirmed 98-0. A more honest documentary would have mentioned that the backing of Perot, and other Republicans, by her tax lawyer husband was crucial in both the confirmation hearings.

The bias of this documentary shines when it describes Scalia as a right wing nut job, and claims Ginsburg was able to maintain a friendship with him because of nonsense like 'always be a lady.' Anyone who knows RBG or Scalia knows that they were close friends who met for dinner weekly. It's not that she was just ignoring his politics and trying to remain civil. They were actually close friends and didn't let politics affect that. I think for those blinded by partisanship, it's hard to imagine being friends with someone who is on the opposite side of the political spectrum. But for most people, it isn't. RBG's husband himself was close friends with Perot, who while running as an independent twice, was a lifelong Republican and always endorsed Republican candidates.

The third issue this documentary glosses over is that many on the left spoke out trying to have RBG step down while Obama was still President. This way the Democrats would be able to retain the seat on the Supreme Court. She could even have had some say over who her replacement would be, and perhaps have had one of her former clerks be her replacement. But she decided to stay on even though she was slowing down and the quality of her output was waning. Nonetheless she tenaciously clung to power, and now she is battling cancer for the 4th time, and has no choice but to remain on the Court until we have a Democratic President. This documentary quickly addresses these criticisms (from the Left, mind you) by saying she would stay on until she couldn't "go full steam." The problem is that she hasn't been going full steam for nearly a decade now, and there is a good chance Trump will be able to place another Justice on the Court because of her. Yet this whole contentious issue is downplayed by repeatedly showing excerpts of her in the gym working out to some energetic music. Those of us who follow the Court are fully aware that she has slowed down considerably, and perhaps isn't all mentally there anymore (given her extremely poor choice of wading into the election by publicly criticizing a Presidential candidate). Some energetic workout music isn't going convince knowledgeable people otherwise.

There are many other issues that the documentary should have addressed; such as the lack of diversity in her clerks (a paucity of African-American and Hispanic clerks, as well as less women than would be expected), as well as a more thorough examination of her jurisprudence. Instead we get a one-sided propaganda piece that is making RBG out to be some sort of God, and not what she is, an impressive but human figure. Even those who tend to be on the Left, like myself, are a bit dissatisfied with the childish one-sided view of RBG.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German French

Release Date:

26 July 2018 (Australia)

Also Known As:

RBG

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$578,470, 6 May 2018

Gross USA:

$14,051,361

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,475,292

Company Credits

Production Co:

CNN Films, Storyville Films, Better Than Fiction Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1