On the Basis of Sex was the second movie to come out about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The first was a documentary called RBG, which I saw in theaters though I had not planned to, whereas this film was a biopic starring Felicity Jones, who is best known from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This film was the number one film that women who don’t regularly see movies wanted to see in theaters, but didn’t because life. So I went from not planning to see it in theaters to willing to see it in theaters because a multitude of different friends were begging me to then not actually seeing it in theaters because not all friends are friends that you can see movies with, and one by one, each person took herself off the wait list to see the film. Most people are not actually great at picking a theater, a specific time then getting there on time, i.e. before the previews start, so you can get a good seat. If you’re a zealous moviegoer, stick to meals, which are more flexible, with these dear friends. Your friendships will be healthier, and you will only resent strangers for erecting barriers to fully enjoying the film. I saw Vice instead and had a great time after putting this one in my queue because I knew that it was the kind of movie that I could watch with my mom.
If it wasn’t for the renown cast, On the Basis of Sex would be the perfect Sunday night television movie that the whole family could watch albeit there is some light cursing that may not get past network censors. The movie isn’t subtle. A professor lectures, “A court ought not to be affected by the weather of the day, but the climate of the era.” When Ginsburg has an epiphany, it is raining, and she is carrying an umbrella. DO YOU GET IT?!?!!!!!!!! If a famous person is mentioned, we can expect to see that person later, specifically Dorothy Kenyon played by Kathy Baker. There is one villain for the entire movie, which feels so implausible that it has to be true. Erwin Griswold was Dean at Harvard Law School and the US Solicitor General. Without fact checking, I detected a rat with the representation of James Bozarth, who was not actually a young Republican Southern gentleman in the traditional sense, but from New Mexico and a Democrat. Whenever American filmmakers want to signify that a character is evil, suddenly he or she gets THAT Southern accent regardless of which region the historical figure actually was born and raised. I actually wish that all dramas based on true life stories could borrow a page from VH1’s Pop-Up Video and always have fact checks throughout the movie if it wouldn’t detract from the visual impact of the movie, which was not entirely memorable except for comparing and contrasting Ginsburg among a sea of men.
It is the kind of safe, emotional inspirational biopic that everyone can agree on. Though the subject matter is feminist, like Ginsburg, it is so tempered with contemporary ideas of traditional images of family that the medicine may go down without notice. I actually thought that juxtaposing the government’s arguments about protecting family values then using Ginsburg’s family to actually depict what a family looks like was nuanced in comparison to the aforementioned moments. Because Ginsburg’s family more closely resembles a contemporary family today, it could be easy for viewers to forget that if this movie was made and aired soon after the case was argued in the 1970s, the image of her family may seem radical at the time. The movie also uses a case that focuses on how sexism hurts men so that most viewers who may become defensive at the mere suggestion of gender bias would at the very least walking away thinking that she has a point.
On the Basis of Sex is a great vehicle to use some great quotes lifted right out of Ginsburg’s oral arguments to the Supreme Court of the United States and is delightfully the exception to my usual hatred of using a courtroom face off to arrive at the denouement. The featured case is the culmination of the movie’s emphasis on Ginsburg’s relationship with her daughter and how she seemed less inspiring to a younger generation. I wanted more about her frustration with her career, if it was accurate, and how she kind of has an early midlife crisis envying a younger woman’s demand for change, i.e. her daughter, which inspires her to decide to shake things up instead of waiting for her students to do so.
Allegedly On the Basis of Sex took liberties with Ginsburg’s initial growing pains as a litigator to illustrate how sexism affected her even among more progressive circles, which I think was a great decision because it is probably the problem that viewers face now. Everyone may superficially agree on equality, but the reality shows that in quotidian life, discrimination rules the day. I just wish that in light of the fifty-two percent, similar nuance was shown with respect to race. The movie uses that sexism to implicitly discount the progressive sexist’s dismissal of sexism in the face of racism as if it was an oppression Olympics and only one could win the gold. Maybe it is accurate for the time, but for me, sexism and racism may originate from the same hate tree, but they are apples and oranges, fruits that satisfy different tastes and apply on different occasions, but can also can coexist on the same platter. As I mentioned in my RBG review, I have also suspected the flip side of the coin with respect to Ginsburg: racism can exist in progressive circles. To be fair, this film isn’t about racism, but in making room for one issue at the table, it does still seem to think that it is a contest.
After watching On the Basis of Sex, my mom definitely wants to see RBG, but if you have a limited amount of time and have to choose between the drama and the documentary, I would choose the documentary though watching it as a double feature is not only possible, but would probably be more enjoyable for Ginsburg fans. I don’t have a recommended order. It was a little jarring to see such famous faces play such well known, real life people so maybe save the documentary for last when those faces won’t be at the forefront of your mind.
