Hats Off

The worry as you sink into Jyll Johnstone's engaging documentary "Hats Off" -- about nonagenarian New York actress Mimi Weddell, a tireless pavement-pounder for gigs small ("Law & Order" cameos and forgettable indie films) and smaller (cheese commercials) -- is that it will be a Willard Scott shout-out to simply hanging on.
But it's actually a multifaceted portrait of an American second act -- Weddell was widowed at 65 and turned her lifelong love of grace, illusion and "aht" into a showbiz career -- that both inspires and flummoxes those around her, most notably the grown children who scoff at her and yet themselves seem sadly stalled by a motivation-less existence.
Weddell is certainly personality enough for this kind of follow-around treatment: effortlessly sophisticated with a cigarette holder in front of a camera, bossy at her regular Elizabeth Arden appointments, fabulously spry at her dance and gymnastics workouts, and devilishly competitive at auditions. (She doesn't get chummy with those familiar wrinkled faces: "They've seen me and I've seen them.") And in the end, there is something to be said for the daily victory against ageism Weddell represents. Because if you're not tickled and stirred by the sight of her 95-pound frame kicking off sheets and leaping out of bed to answer a phone -- a gig, maybe! -- then shame on you.
Da The Los Angeles Times, 1 maggio 2008