LET’S be honest. There aren’t many people wondering what’s become of Valerie Harper, who played Mary Tyler Moore’s friend Rhoda on TV.
But just in case somebody has been asking, I have the answer: Harper has morphed into grandmotherly Golda Meir, prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974, in “Golda’s Balcony.”
The film is based on William Gibson’s one-actor Broadway play in which the retired Meir looks back on her life. Harper plays not only Meir but a dozen or so other characters, including David Ben-Gurion and Henry Kissinger.
Harper and the film’s director, Jeremy Kagan, try valiantly, but they are unable to bring Meir to life or hold viewers’ attentions. “Golda’s Balcony” makes one yearn for Ingrid Bergman’s portrayal of Meir in the 1982 TV biopic “A Woman Called Golda.”
Running time: 95 minutes. Not rated (mature themes). At the Quad, 13th Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues.