THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME SHE was in a class of mine. I had seen her in the school’s cafeteria on the few occasions I ate lunch at school. By most students’ standards, she was classified as being beautiful. The reason I knew this was because the school’s rumor mill was always busier in the beginning of a new school year. I, myself, thought she was beautiful; however, the main reason she was being talked about was because of her brains. I had heard she was exceptionally smart and students were already predicting she would be the class valedictorian. Personally, it did not matter to me whether she was smart or not, pretty or not; I only hoped she was a nice, friendly person. Our class together was European history; a subject I enjoyed. On my own and before I even knew i was taking the class, I had read books on the different royal families, from England to Russia. Having had relatives who served in the military during World War II, I grew up hearing all kinds of stories about their time overseas, so was interested in getting more facts about their time there. I did not necessarily think I was going to be the smartest in class, but I did feel I could hold my own in any type of group discussions or tests. Within the first several weeks it was apparent to the teacher, as well as the students, that this beautiful girl was smart. Not that she was the type who immediately raised her hand to answer every question the teacher asked, but she displayed extremely thoughtful counterpoints to the teacher’s discussions on various topics. i was quite impressed with her.      FOR THE REST OF THE SCHOOL year and all of my future educational classes, I used that girl as the example of having the looks but not flaunting them and having the knowledge but not showing off. I can recall being in a discussion group with her and how impressed I was when she would challenge a fellow student’s argument about a certain subject. She was never one to yell or accuse someone of being wrong; she would systematically work on breaking down the person’s false narratives, making a point of explaining the reasons, and she never ever made things personal like some of the other students did in class. At one point, when everyone was meeting with a guidance counselor to narrow down what we wanted to be or study in college, I thought her counselor would certainly tell her she should become a lawyer. She had the manner, the temperament, and obviously had the brains. Not to be judgmental or snarky, but her combination of beauty and brains confused students who were higher in the social standings of the student body, for example the players on the school’s major sports teams, the jocks and cheerleaders. They did not know how to approach or handle her. One could say the same thing about the actress in this fascinating documentary.      RAQUEL WELCH (THE THREE MUSKETEERS, FANTASTIC VOYAGE), was a trailblazing actress who broke barriers which enabled many actors after her to flourish in their careers. Yet, most people only remember her outfit in the film, One Million Years B.C. I happened to see this film long after it debuted. From what I remember, I thought she looked different than many actresses because she was not the “blond bombshell’ type and she looked to me like she had the figure of a Barbie doll. From this documentary directed by Olivia Cheng (Dinner with Dex, Warrior-TV), i learned so much more about Raquel through her own voice and those who worked with her or were considered her friend like the costume designer Bob Mackie and actor Eugenio Derbez (Instructions Not Included, Overboard). She was a single mother, who worked hard to provide for her family, while redefining the world’s idea of a Hollywood “Sex Symbol.” In addition, she accomplished things that no actress had ever done. I enjoyed watching this movie and loved the way the director went between interviews and archival footage. With the director presenting a well-rounded story about a misunderstood actress, I was thoroughly entertained and at the same time learned why Raquel had an important place in Hollywood history.

3 stars