Ask Dr. Ruth

2019

100 mins

Directed by Ryan White
93%
93%
Documentary

America's most famous sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is the subject of this documentary tracing her life from Holocaust survivor... More

America's most famous sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is the subject of this documentary tracing her life from Holocaust survivor to acceptable face of sexuality in American living rooms.

"Filmmaker Ryan White captures Dr. Ruth’s exuberant and snappy personality as she hopscotches from speaking engagements to TV and radio appearances. Her infectious energy is colored with an almost arresting openness that is joyous and nonjudgmental, and the affable rapport between filmmaker and subject is a welcome source of laughter. Alongside her optimism, however, are storybook-like animations that bring Dr. Ruth’s childhood as an orphan of the Holocaust to life. The tragic loss of being separated from her parents and never seeing them again shaped how she would embrace the world. The film is an inspiring and entertaining portrait of a trailblazer that reveals the darkness Dr. Ruth emerged from to bring light to so many people." (Sundance Film Festival)

Less

Where to watch Ask Dr. Ruth

Ask Dr. Ruth is available to stream in Australia now... More on YouTube and Google TV and Apple TV Store and Foxtel and Prime Video Store.

There is no screening information for this title.

Ask Dr. Ruth | Ratings & Reviews

93_%83 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes® rating
93_%72 reviews
Audience score rating

"Ask Dr. Ruth is a warm, often very funny, often very moving portrait of the private life of a public figure."

—

Stuff

"If we're going to go 100 minutes with this remarkable old lady, a little depth is pretty much required. It turns out you can ask Dr Ruth about anything - except perhaps herself."

—

Sydney Morning Herald

"The film does a great job of contextualising the phenom of Dr. Ruth."

—

RogerEbert.com

"The irony at the core of the Dr. Ruth persona is that the maverick who made the bedroom public is herself incredibly private"

—

Variety

"A movie that feels more like an encomium than a thoughtful probe of a brilliantly mutinous mind."

—

The New York Times

"The director Ryan White ("The Keepers") has fun exploring all that gimmicky pop-cultural detritus, and he also drops in a few greatest-hits montages covering Westheimer's rise to fame."

—