Wow, the few user reviews of this are a trip. Half 1-stars declaring it the enemy of decency, half 10-stars declaring it the second coming. Both of which are rather overstated.

This filmed one-woman-plus stage play begins as a nostalgic piece about a childhood spent debating the constitution, but makes a number of interesting turns as it thoughtfully explores America and its foundational document in great depth. It's a smart show for a smart, intellectual audience. The author is decidedly progressive, which is what all the user reviews are really responding to. And while I generally try and gauge how could a political movie is beyond its political points, you really can't separate the two.

In the end, there is a debate on whether to rewrite the constitution, with the author taking one side or another against a teen debater. I think that even though this looks like a genuine debate that it's in large part written by the author, since I watched some of a clip of her debating on the other side and both debaters said pretty similar things to what's in the film. This feels like a bit of a cheat - the play likes to suggest that it's free and loose and could be different every time but I suspect (as someone who hasn't watched the play and doesn't really know) that it's not that different from one night to the next - but it's still a fascinating debate topic argued wittily and well.

If you don't like intellectual discussions or your head is likely to explode if you hear the wealthy slaveowners who founded this country may actually have had imperfections then you probably won't enjoy this, but if you like something smart and funny and clever and original then you should check this out.

It has been about a year since I got to watch live theater, which is WAY too long. This movie actually captures the experience pretty darn well - the voices, the audience, the energy. Schreck's show somehow takes us all on a journey through her adolescence, our nation's history, and this difficult current moment all at once. it is not a perfect film, or even really a film at all. But it is a pretty darn good play, especially if you have kids who love Hamilton and are ready for the next conversation.

Most feminist are joyless ideologues but here is a rare one that has a sense of humor. I enjoyed her monologue for about half an hour, but it got tiresome when she started berating justices for not protecting "some" domestic violence victim. I'm just so tired of feminist claiming women are main victims. In fact, most victims of violent crimes -- by far -- are men.