You might have to be of ‘an age’ to understand and appreciate this docudrama. If you weren’t enmeshed in the Vietnam life, if you didn’t lose a direct family member (ie; mother, father, sibling, spouse, child) to the conflict, you may not realize the ramifications of this story. As well, if you are adopted and know nothing of your birth parent(s), you may feel a special place in your heart for Be Good, Smile Pretty. Some reviews I have seen infer that it isn’t about Don Droz, father of Tracy Droz Tragos, but more about Tracy. They also felt it was too much ‘her’ and not enough ‘him’, but that was the idea, or so I felt.
It was Tracy’s becoming one within her own mind and skin, finding her roots. Learning why she walked a certain way, talked a certain way, smiled a certain way. It also investigated her relationship with her mother and adoptive father, her biological paternal grandparents and extended family, and the friends and comrades that knew and served with her father.
And it all started with an innocent trip to the internet and typing the name ‘Droz’ in a Google® search, trying to see if anyone in her family had ever become famous. What she found instead was a past, buried as much of the pasts from Vietnam were, silent observers, buried above ground is how I like to refer to it. The docudrama is a search into the life, loves, pains and death of her father in Vietnam and resultant omission from her life.
Several times during the movie we stopped the film for a discussion. I really enjoyed having someone to air views with, talk things over and get a different point of view while watching the movie. Diane’s observations brought a lot of things out that I didn’t think of or interpret the same way. We both understood Tracy’s need for closure, or disclosure in this case, but also wondered at the callous treatment of her family and friends during interviews. Most especially at how hurt her stepfather must have felt when he viewed the completed project.
The DVD extras were really nice with extended interviews with children (adults now) who lost a father in Vietnam and their reflections on how that affected their entire life. The next section were extended interviews with Vietnam Veterans, several of which were involved with her father. Other than that were the general biographies, still photos and trailers on the extras section.
Be Good, Smile Pretty won the Target Documentary Award for Best Documentary Feature and is Tracy’s first piece. It is backed by the Orphans of War and featured on the Virtual Wall web site. Directed by Tracy Droz Tragos, this 56-minute trip from Senate chambers to dooryards in Selma, Alabama, to the Naval Academy and finally the Virtual Wall, helps define the character of the woman she has become. I think you will find it a telling piece.
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