Searching for Debra Winger

You'll never see an all-star cast like this again: the primary reason being that they're here to complain--justifiably so--about the lack of film roles available to them, among other things. Actress Rosanna Arquette, inspired by Debra Winger's very early retirement from showbiz, set out to interview as many famous female actors as she could about the difficulties of being a woman in Hollywood, and the result makes for an intelligent, eloquent (if often irate), and compulsively watchable documentary. Onscreen is a red carpet's worth of luminaries: Sharon Stone, Holly Hunter, Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Lane, Meg Ryan, Vanessa Redgrave, Salma Hayek, Winger herself, and many, many more. Even these very successful women--armed with the best resources and access--struggle with juggling career, motherhood, and men in a way that many non-famous women will recognize. Mostly, though, they rage against how Hollywood suffers from a lack of roles for women beyond that of victim, girlfriend, or mother, as well as how the industry typically ignores women over 40 and those who don't look like supermodels. Distressing as it is to see these beautiful, vital, smart women straining at the boundaries placed before them, it's worse to admit that nothing in Hollywood seems set to change. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)