To Be Takei

Jennifer Kroot's upbeat docu-portrait takes viewers on an enjoyable ride alongside supporting actor George Takei, aka Lt. Sulu, navigator of the Federation starship Enterprise in the classic 1960s sci-fi series Star Trek. Takei's off-screen life has warp-speeded him to the forefront of activism; after long being coy about his sexuality, Takei finally declared himself openly gay and in a long-term relationship. As a Japanese-American boy in the wake of Pearl Harbor, Takei was imprisoned, alongside thousands of other Japanese-Americans citizens, in the notorious U.S. government internment camps of the 1940s. As an Asiatic actor in the Hollywood of yesteryear, he had to take on roles that were often demeaning stereotypes—the capable crew member Sulu being an exception that made him a hero to many ethnic viewers. Kroot presents the multi-faceted, humorous, ever-optimistic Takei as he campaigns for homosexual rights (offering his own name as a euphemism for "gay" in Bible Belt territories), appears regularly on shock-jock Howard Stern's show, helps launch a stage musical about the internment camps, and gets to "roast" sci-fi icon William Shatner, portrayed unflatteringly in Takei's published memoirs (Shatner himself claims he barely knows the man). Also featuring Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig, this crowd-pleasing film is recommended. (C. Cassady)