Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021)

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Rita Moreno is one of those trailblazing celebrities that you can always look to for a dose of inspiration. She marked a real turning point for American culture by being an openly Latina performer who defied the racism and stereotypes of her era. While some like Hayworth attempted to mask as much of their Latina culture as possible, Moreno made it known and brought about a pop culture embrace of her talents. She would win awards for her work in singing and acting. Consider this documentary yet another worthy note on her legacy, celebrating everything she had done and meant for so many.

Now at 90 years old, there’s so much to cover with Moreno’s work that continues into the modern era. As such, this documentary attempts to cover her long career from many aspects. We get a lot of the familiar biography documentary hallmarks. Clips of her fantastic film performances in such pictures as West Side Story are diced up and lavished over by the gushing talking heads who sing her praises of how much she meant to them. Her singing blasts from the audio with enough power to amaze those just discovering her talents. Even her dancing clips are sure to surprise a few.

What makes the documentary work far better than similar pictures with about as much ingenuity as a YouTuber is that Moreno’s neverending activism gets a fresh perspective to showcase how inspiring she continues to be. Moreno was no stranger to racism, being well aware of the stereotypes she was playing into early in her career. She was so dismayed that she wouldn’t act in much after winning an Oscar for West Side Story. She would later appear in Broadway productions as well as find better roles in films like The Night of the Following Day and Marlowe.

As Moreno grew older, her work became more profound and meaningful. She would pop up on stuff like The Electric Company and The Muppet Show, further cementing herself within pop culture as more than just that one Latina actor who is hired for stereotypical roles. Her Muppet Show episode in particular won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. It’s surprising just how far her talents stretched. It may even surprise some millennials to learn she was the voice of Carmen Sandiego on the animated show Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?

Moreno’s work continues onward in activism and more film roles. She still fights the neverending battle against racism and sexism that continues to pollute American society. She’s still having notable roles in such films as the Spielberg remake of West Side Story and such television as the modern remake of the sitcom One Day at a Time. She would be honored with awards that went beyond her entertainment work, including the Presidential Medal of Honor.

The film features interviews with the notable names of Eva Longoria, George Chakiris, Gloria Estefan, Héctor Elizondo, Karen Olivo, Justina Machado, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mitzi Gaynor, Morgan Freeman, Norman Lear, Terrence McNally, Whoopi Goldberg, and Moreno herself. It’s no surprise why Lin-Manuel Miranda decided to produce this film alongside director Mariem Pérez Riera. You can see so much of Moreno’s exuberance and power in his work, most notably in how he depicts the Latina community within In the Heights. Considering that 2021 saw such Hispanic-leading pictures as In The Heights, Encanto, and West Side Story, it’s fair to say that Latino and Latina representation has come a long way and that Moreno certainly played a heavy role in her lengthy career.