Critic Reviews

As a documentary, Ask Dr. Ruth has it kind of easy: It’s got an enchanting subject eager to tell a fascinating story.

[A] peripatetic and ultimately poignant documentary.

Fortunately, the [animated] reenactments are rendered with sensitivity, respectfully capturing the wide-eyed curiosity of a young woman, and conveying her story in a way that archival footage and family photos cannot.

White, who has done documentaries about Serena Williams, Beatles secretary Freda Kelly and the Netlfix series “The Keepers,” is an efficient storyteller who keeps things moving. There is a wealth of archival material, and clips from her 1980s television life. He neatly makes the case for Westheimer; openly talking about sex is now commonplace, but not when she started.

When Ask Dr. Ruth is over, you’ll believe a human being can be as special as any computer-generated effect.

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

Ask Dr. Ruth takes the caricature of the middle-aged, diminutive sex therapist and, through the use of documentary techniques, expands and deepens the viewer’s understanding of the woman behind the image.

Despite its spunky tone, Ask Dr. Ruth feels like several documentaries in one rather than a comprehensive look at a fascinating and enduring woman who shows no signs of slowing down. Thankfully, the film never feels as if it’s a work of branded content but rather an honest and intimate portrait of a revolutionary American cultural icon.

It’s not a particularly revealing film, more a reiteration of her credits and credentials, just a hint here and there about how her parents’ influenced her career choice, even after death. Her son Joel tries to remember Ruth ever talking about losing her parents to The Holocaust. She didn’t unless he or his sister asked.

Crucially, Ask Dr. Ruth shows us a renegade ahead of her time.