If Women Ruled the World: A Washington Dinner Party

In June 1999, nineteen notable women gathered for a formal dinner party in the U.S. Senate Caucus Room to take stock of women's advancement in contemporary Western society. Discussing lessons from the past, problems in the present, and prospects for the future, the group pursued topics ranging from juggling work with family to British ex-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's femininity. The host, Canada's first and only female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, was joined at the table by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, General Claudia Kennedy (the highest ranking woman in the U.S. Army), feminist pioneer Betty Friedan, Elle magazine editor-in-chief Elaina Richardson, and fourteen other distinguished women in fields as disparate as anthropology, psychology, politics, education, the media, and the arts. Although the film opens with the suggestion that the sharing of food amongst family and friends (indeed, the fine art of dinner conversation itself) is ample evidence of the civilizing nature of femininity, the ensuing discussion isn't altogether relaxed--owing perhaps to the inescapably imperial air of the Senate Caucus Room, the intrusion of the camera, and the collective clout of the old guard at the table (which is quite obviously intimidating to a couple of the younger guests). Regardless of the mood, however, the conversation remains civil and mostly interesting, although the ongoing dialectic is often interrupted with cutaways to show the preparation of the meal, individual interviews with the guests, outside comments from experts, and old film and newsreel clips--additions that ultimately provide some viewer-friendly contextual padding for the almost always-engaging dinner-table discussions. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (A. Cantú)