Tough Old Broads: When Three History-Making "First" Ladies Are Separate But Equally Impressive

By Jim Slotek

Rating: B

It becomes clear fairly quickly that the documentary Tough Old Broads, Stacey Tenenbaum’s profile of three pioneering women — “first” ladies, if you will — could easily have been three movies.

It’s partly because these tough women each deserve their own spotlight, and partly because their experiences are so utterly different that the jump from one story to the other can be jarring.

The only connecting tissue is bravery and stubborn determination, which is a pretty wide narrative brush, however uplifting.

The attempted eviction of Kathrine Switzer from the Boston Marathon

There’s Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to (sort-of) officially run the then-all-male Boston Marathon, Sharon Farmer, a lifetime Black activist and photographer who became the first person of colour to serve as the Director of White House Photography, and Siila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit survivor of the ‘60s/70s Residential School sweep, who became a leader and spokesperson for her culture and a climate change activist.

As is often the case with visual media, the most dramatic image has become emblematic of the film. It is the now-famous photo of an angry race official chasing Switzer and trying to rip her number — 261 — off her shirt. A race partner she identifies as “my boyfriend” would tackle the official, setting her loose to finish the race. Now that’s an ally.

A mountain of accomplishments by the movie’s other subjects aside, hers is the most focused and most dramatic tale. She’d slipped into the race by registering with her initials. But thanks to her, in 1972, women officially qualified. It was part of an explosion in women’s sports in the ‘70s that saw their tennis ticket sales approach par with the men’s, and female Olympic athletes become household names.

It’s an inspiring women’s rights story, that sharply contrasts with the inspiring “everyone” stories of Watt-Cloutier and Farmer. Shipped as an eight-year-old to Nova Scotia to be raised in white society, Watt-Cloutier overcame barriers that face her entire people. The tale she tells is largely of men who’ve lost purpose with the loss of hunting and the fur market that sustained them. A Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she has traveled far with the message that climate change and human rights are intertwined.

Her scenes in the overpowering snowy landscape of Nunavik are visually the most beautiful in the film.

Farmer’s story is that of witness to history, through the lens and otherwise, from Civil Rights groups to Vietnam protests through to her role in the Clinton administration.

As seniors, all share a still-robust positivity, as if the road ahead must continue to lead forward. Tough Old Broads adds a teaspoon of vinegar to the mood towards the end when Farmer and the people around her react (some sadly, some angrily) to the re-election of Donald Trump.

It would have been a nice touch to have Switzer, Watt-Cloutier, and Farmer meet and interact. If nothing else, it might have given Tough Old Broads a connectivity beyond three fascinating stories, separately told.

Tough Old Broads. Directed by Stacey Tennenbaum. Starring Kathrine Switzer, Sharon Farmer and Siila Watt-Cloutier. In theatres March 27 at Landmark Cinemas in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa (Kanata) and Whitby.