Hulu Nabs ‘Ask Dr. Ruth’ Documentary Ahead of Sundance

By Matt Donnelly

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “Ask Dr. Ruth,” a documentary about the revolutionary sex therapist, has sold theatrical and streaming rights to Hulu ahead of its Sundance Film Festival premiere.

Directed by Ryan White (Netflix’s “The Keepers”), the doc follows 90-year-old Dr. Ruth Westheimer — a groundbreaking and candid authority on American sexuality who became a cultural icon.

will pledge the widest theatrical release its ever attempted for an original documentary, a fledgling library the streamer is building which includes “Minding the Gap,” “Crime + Punishment,” and “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie.”

“I’ve never really stopped to examine my life, so when I first saw Ask Dr. Ruth even I was amazed by what had transpired during my ninety years,” Dr. Ruth said in a statement. “I am delighted that audiences will be able to share that experience both on Hulu and in movie theaters around the U.S.”

The logline for the movie reads: “Ask Dr. Ruth chronicles the incredible life of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a Holocaust survivor who became America’s most famous sex therapist. With her diminutive frame, thick German accent, and uninhibited approach to sex therapy and education, Dr. Ruth transformed the conversation around sexuality. As she approaches her 90th birthday and shows no signs of slowing down, Ask Dr. Ruth follows Dr. Ruth as she revisits her painful past and unlikely path to a career at the forefront of the sexual revolution.”

“Ask Dr. Ruth” was produced by Delirio Films and executive produced by Peggy Drexler. White also produced alongside Rafael Marmor, Christopher Leggett, and Jessica Hargrave.