Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

 3/4

Not Rated (probable PG-13 for Some Strong Language and A Violent Image)

What is it about the American sense of humor that makes us laugh when someone tells the truth in ways they are most decidedly not supposed to?  I have a few friends who grew up in the south like Molly Ivins and are funny in the same way, so maybe it's just a Southern thing.  Whatever the reason, it's clear that Molly's upfront sense of humor woke a lot people up to the goings on in the Texas government, and later on, the United States itself.

I've found that documentaries are the hardest for me to review.  I mean, what can you write about?  The normal talking points like acting, writing and so on don't apply.  What I can say is that, while this may not be the most skillful or even thoughtful documentary I've seen, it is fascinating and heartfelt.

It's also hilarious.  No, really.  Molly was infamous for her biting wit, and she fearlessly took on just about everyone around her.  It got her into trouble on numerous occasions, but the six-foot-tall loaded pistol soldiered on.  It became a persona that she built around herself, which caused her great loneliness and contributed to a 40 year battle with alcoholism.

Although "Raise Hell" is, in many ways, a traditional documentary, director Janice Engel does two things with her film.  One, she explores Molly's spitfire humorist persona and how it came to be.  And two, she looks behind the mask at who Molly really was, which was a very different thing.  There's no denying that Engel accomplishes these goals, but the movie lacks focus.  It kind of drifts from topic to topic once one bit of material has been dried up.

Ivins was probably most famous for her sense of humor (indeed, this film had me roaring with laughter on more than a few occasions), but the film makes clear at just how brilliant a journalist she actually was.  As Rachel Maddow put it, "The people Molly took apart...they were the right people and they knew it."  She was an ardent defender of civil rights, the lower class and the freedom of speech and would humiliate anyone who betrayed those values.  Democrat or Republican.

Her insight led her to predict where we were headed with George W. Bush (whom she infamously called "Dubya" and "Shrub").  Out of control corporate influence, a widening wealth gap, and a loss of constitutional freedom exchanged for the appearance of "safety." The documentary has a sequence that stuck with me: "'Dubya is culturally identified with the state of Texas very strongly.  And the characteristics I see that strike me as so familiar are anti-intellectualism, religiosity, by which I mean not just belief but the public display of belief and machismo.'  Molly had this idea that they were going to try what happens in Texas on a national scale and here's what happens."  It's hard not to hear her words and think about the times we live in now.

As much of a firebrand as she was, in private she was shy and lonely.  Molly found it difficult to cope with the pressure of fame and the need to be the persona that she created for herself all the time.  And she because she recognized that she wasn't conventionally attractive, she didn't believe any men would be attracted to her (her friends say otherwise).  This material isn't dealt with in detail, but it allows us to see another side of her.  It humanizes her effectively.

Although she died in 2007 (her battle with breast cancer is touched upon), the film leaves us with a sense of hope and optimism.  The film ends with her message that people can change the world.  That we need to fight for our rights with everything we have.  Just like she did.

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