‘Every Body’ is an Essential Documentary About the Intersex Community

June 27, 2023

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Every Body, EVERY Body, Every Body, EVERY Body (CREDIT: Courtesy of FOCUS FEATURES / © 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC)

Starring: River Gallo, Alicia Roth Weigel, Sean Saifa Wall

Director: Julie Cohen

Running Time: 92 Minutes

Rating: R for A Little Bit of Language and Nude Images

Release Date: June 30, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Perhaps the least widely understood letter in the acronym LGBTQIA is the “I.” It stands for “intersex,” which refers to individuals with biological sex characteristics that don’t fit neatly into the male/female binary. It’s estimated that about 1.7% of the population have some sort of intersex characteristics. In some cases, those traits may remain undetected, but in others, surgery may happen to confirm a particular sex assignment. The documentary Every Body focuses on the stories of three intersex individuals (River Gallo, Alicia Roth Weigel, Sean Saifa Wall) of varying physical appearance and gender identity to posit that maybe the treatment of intersex people shouldn’t be as one-size-fits-all as it has historically been.

What Made an Impression?: Gender Reveal Pandemonium: Every Body opens with a montage of gender reveal parties and their elaborate, often violent methods of introducing a coming baby’s identity. The sequence is matter-of-factly over-the-top, even without showing some of the most notoriously destructive examples of this phenomenon. The point is that society is so focused on gender, often to a comical extreme, which ultimately leads to the suggestion that ultimately maybe we could settle down a bit and replace these gender reveals with the theoretically simpler alternative of “human reveal parties.”
An Infamous Case: Perhaps the most crucial sequence of Every Body involves River, Alicia, and Sean being introduced to the story of one of the most well-known intersex persons, who actually wasn’t intersex at all. Born in 1965, David Reimer’s penis was mutilated when he was a baby by a botched circumcision. Reconstructive surgery was pretty much nonexistent at the time, so his mother followed the teachings of psychologist John Money, who believed that gender identity could be conditioned through behavioral intervention. So David was raised as a girl, but his fundamental boyhood couldn’t hide for very long. His story is presented here mostly in the form of an old Dateline episode, but his story remains vital, and the added context of everyone’s reactions justify its conclusion.
Getting to Know Them: A documentary like this one is only as compelling as its subjects, and on that score, River, Alicia, and Sean are interesting and inviting individuals. Their viewpoints of the intersex parts of their identity are deeply and firmly considered, and they’re happy to explain themselves to a cinematic audience. And chances are you’ll also be happy to start a parasocial relationship with them.

Every Body is Recommended If You Like: The concept of cura personalis

Grade: 4 out of 5 Humans

‘Julia’ is on Fire

November 13, 2021

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Julia (CREDIT: Sony Pictures Classics/Screenshot)

Starring: Julia Child and Friends

Directors: Julie Cohen and Betsy West

Running Time: 95 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 12, 2021 (Theaters)

The beginning of the Julia Child documentary Julia features footage of Ms. Child in the kitchen to the tune of Jimi Hendrix’s psychedelic hard rock classic “Fire.” Which had me going, “Awww, yeah!” I love that sort of juxtaposition! The rest of the movie is a fairly typical biographical documentary, what with its mix of archival footage and interviews with family, friends, and fans. But that opening has me wondering about other potential mashup ideas: the Barefoot Contessa set to Metallica, perhaps? Emeril Lagasse chopping away while Phish jams on? The Swedish Chef bork bork-ing as Yoko Ono howls with abandon? Chime in if you’ve got any other ideas!

Grade: 3 Chopped Fingers in the Beef Bourguignon

This Is a Movie Review: ‘RBG’ Presents Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Story as a History of American Justice

May 1, 2018

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CREDIT: Magnolia Pictures

This review was originally published on News Cult in May 2018.

Starring: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gloria Steinem, Nina Totenberg, Clara Spera

Directors: Betsy West and Julie Cohen

Running Time: 97 Minutes

Rating: PG for Eyeroll-Style Rebukes to Years of Discrimination

Release Date: May 4, 2018 (Limited)

RBG is not so much about lionizing Ruth Bader Ginsburg as much as it is about capturing the moment of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is compelling in that regard because the fact that a woman achieves her greatest fame in her eighties, for whatever reason, is notable in and of itself. Ginsburg’s singularity is understandable insofar as becoming a justice on the United States Supreme Court is typically the culmination of a decades-long career, but her uniqueness is nonetheless still remarkable. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen make the case that this moment is richly deserved, as Ginsburg has played critical roles in key moments in American legislative history. This is a documentary that makes the case for someone who has so assiduously made many cases for others.

As a progressive-minded individual, and a fan of Ginsburg’s already, I am pre-disposed to enjoy a doc that takes an admiring approach towards her. But as a critic, I am always inclined to wonder if I have fallen prey to a bit of hagiography. I imagine this film would not have gotten made if not for the existence of the “Notorious R.B.G.” tumblr, but this is not the “RBG memes” movie. It puts in the work to justify why this story is worth being told. In clear, efficient terms, it presents how Ginsburg was integral in multiple landmark decisions involving gender equity, as she rectified institutional discrimination that had been hurting both men and women. And as much as RBG reveals how Ginsburg deserves gratitude from certain constituencies, it does not turn a blind eye to her more questionable moments, as it examines the appropriateness, or lack thereof, of her critical comments about Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign.

Overall, RBG demonstrates admirable commitment to the concept of cura personalis, Latin for “care for the entire person” (an idea that graduates of Jesuit institutions will intimately recognize). This is surely not the first documentary focused around the totality of an individual, but this particular doc displays care for the entire person more than most, whether or not its makers are familiar with any particular term. It is hardly groundbreaking that a chronicle of Ginsburg’s career is accompanied with stories of her family life, or friendly interactions with her colleagues, or her reactions to Kate McKinnon’s SNL impression of her as a Def Jam-style comedian. (It is perhaps a little bit surprising, though, that we also get to see footage of her daily workout routine.) Ultimately the value of a film like this is fully in focus in the scenes with Ginsburg and her granddaughter, law student Clara Spera (who is equal parts admiring of the public figure and loving of the family member), and that value is that everyone should be treated with such thorough, compassionate care.

RBG is Recommended If You Like: Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Person, Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Meme, Kate McKinnon’s impression of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Grade: 3.75 out of 5 Dissents