IGN.com|AskMen.com|Rotten Tomatoes|GameSpy|FilePlanet|TeamXbox|CheatsCodesGuides|GameStats|Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

Register | Log In | What is RT?
It's our 10th birthday, so you get presents!
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
 
MOVIES / IN CINEMAS / HATS OFF
Hats Off

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Showtimes & Tickets
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

Hats Off (2008)

38%
50%
N/A
N/A
N/A
38 %
Reviews Counted: 13 Fresh: 5  Rotten:8 Average Rating: 4.9/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Synopsis: With the style and grace of Katharine Hepburn, the smoky wit and wisdom of Dorothy Parker, and her own personal philosophy, “rise above it,” Ms. Weddell is truly an iconic American original, rising above the mundane and difficult confines of her own daily life to reach for the stars and fulfill... With the style and grace of Katharine Hepburn, the smoky wit and wisdom of Dorothy Parker, and her own personal philosophy, “rise above it,” Ms. Weddell is truly an iconic American original, rising above the mundane and difficult confines of her own daily life to reach for the stars and fulfill her dreams.

Directed by Jyll Johnstone (Martha & Ethel, Throwing Curves), Hats Off captures the essence of this most unusual woman, named at age 90 by New York Magazine as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in New York,” whose full-time acting career began at age 65 upon the passing of her husband, and whose daily routine mocks the traditional image of old age. From grueling 14-hour days at cattle call auditions to her weekly gymnastics and dance workouts, Ms. Weddell exudes a ‘can-do, will do’ attitude in the face of life’s trials and tribulations, and moves through her challenges with grace, encouraging us all to be more than we are.

When her beloved husband dies, “leaving nothing behind but bills, poor man,” Ms. Weddell does what she has to do to stay afloat; even attending an audition on the way to his memorial and landing the lead role in the cult film Dracula's Last Rites, which marks the beginning of her career. Since that time, 25 years ago, Ms. Weddell has been seen in print ads for Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Juicy Couture and Nike, to name a few; in photo spreads for Vanity Fair and Vogue; on TV series including “Sex and the City,” and “Law and Order;” and in feature films such as Across the Universe, Hitch and The Purple Rose of Cairo. --© Official Site
[More]

Genre: Education/General Interest

Director: Jyll Johnstone

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
 
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image
2.5/5

Sometimes, a story is just not worth telling, and while Mimi's life is definitely an unusual one, it's not iconic.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/16/08
Bill Gibron
PopMatters
Ratings Image
3.5/5

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.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/02/08
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

Although it's highly effective at conveying the amusing aspects of its subject's quirky personality, Hats Off is less than meaningful in terms of terms of getting under her skin.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/09/08
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

A wonderful continuation of Johnstone's previous age-is-but-a-number twilight documentaries Martha & Ethel and Throwing Curves.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Richard Horgan
FilmStew.com
Ratings Image
N/A

Johnstone, a friend of the family, maintains too discreet a distance from her subject.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
David Noh
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
2.5/4

The face may be vaguely familiar, and if the name 'Mimi Weddell' doesn't ring a bell it will after you've seen Jyll Johnstone's affectionate documentary portrait of this unstoppable nonagenarian model and actress.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Ratings Image
3/4

Jyll Johnstone's irresistible Hats Off documents Mimi Weddell, a Manhat tanite who, at 93, has pretty much cornered the market playing elegant, very old ladies in movies, TV, commercials and print ads.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Ratings Image
3.5/5

Hats Off is a documentary tribute to the 93-year-old actress Mimi Weddell, one of those people for whom the word 'individual' seems especially apt.

comment Comment
03/28/08
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
2/5

Overall, Hats Off feels like a scripted documentary that avoids the full story.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/28/08
Amy Nicholson
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image
3/6

It doesn’t take long for Mimi Weddell’s elegant aura to crumble, disarmingly, in this documentary about the 93-year-old actor who once played Stanford’s grandmother on Sex and the City.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/27/08
Gia Kourlas
Time Out New York
Ratings Image
N/A

Despite intimate, prolonged access to her subject, director Jyll Johnstone seems to have missed the most interesting wrinkles of Weddell's story in favor of fuzzy life's-a-stage affirmations.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/27/08
Peter Debruge
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
N/A

[Actress] Weddell isn't really representative of an older generation of actors; she's one of a kind. But this visually indifferent documentary never explains why that matters.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/25/08
Vadim Rizov
Village Voice
Ratings Image
2/4

Quaint and slight.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/25/08
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine
1 - 13 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
See More Topics...

Related Forums

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

Around the Network

• Hats Off at Rotten Tomatoes
• Hats Off at IGN
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.