Ben-Stiller Movie Reviews

She could turn the world on with her smile--and even with her over-the-top weeping. Mary Tyler Moore's sunny persona in The Mary Tyler Moore Show and, earlier, in The Dick Van Dyke Show became a touchstone of American television in the 1960s and '70s. Men adored her; women wanted to be her (or at least look as good as she did in those capri pants). Yet for all her surface success, Moore has been dogged by hardship--the drug overdose of her sister, her diagnosis of diabetes, alcoholism, and most tragically, the apparent suicide of her only son, Richie. In this compelling Intimate Portrait, narrated by her former MTM pal Valerie Harper, Moore talks openly and movingly about all of her tribulations, as well as her fabulous successes. At times she appears as fragile as glass, but at others her resolve and commitment to being well are inspiring, as is the ongoing love story of her third marriage, to cardiologist Dr. Robert Levine, who clearly adores her. This is more revealing that your typical A&E Biography-type portrait, and all the more rewarding for it. We guess she's gonna make it after all. --Anne Hurley