I Am Woman 2019

In 1966, Helen Reddy arrives in New York City to record an album, the result of her having won a contest in her home country of Australia. She meets with the record label, only for them to renege on the deal, leaving her stranded with her three-year-old daughter Traci. Lonely and in need of money, Reddy begins singing at small nightclubs and looks up her old friend, rock journalist Lilian Roxon. At a party given by Roxon, Reddy meets talent agent Jeff Wald. Reddy and Wald begin dating and Wald takes her on as a client. They marry and relocate to Los Angeles, which Wald feels will offer more opportunities for their respective careers.

Initially, Wald has little success in promoting his wife, as record companies favor male groups. Repeated insistent calls to Capitol Records land Reddy the opportunity to record a single. Wald enlists family and friends to help promote the demo by requesting it on radio stations and soon the B side, a cover of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”, becomes Reddy’s first hit. They buy a much larger home and begin indulging in the Hollywood lifestyle, with Wald picking up a cocaine habit.

Reddy becomes interested in the burgeoning feminist movement, inspiring her to write “I Am Woman.” Though executives pronounce the song “angry” and “man-hating,” Wald encourages Reddy to add it to her concert repertoire. Soon, it becomes her biggest hit and a feminist anthem.

Within a few years, she gains eight number one adult contemporary US singles, as well as her own television show and residency in Las Vegas, but the pressures of the industry strain her marriage. Once again, Reddy seeks support from Roxon, only to find her friend in poor health. When Roxon dies of asthma, Reddy attempts to cancel her upcoming concerts, but Wald insists she keep her commitments.

After a successful show, Reddy finds her husband backstage, under the influence of cocaine and assaulting recording company personnel. Overcome by shock and exhaustion, Reddy collapses and wakes up in the emergency room to discover the Equal Rights Amendment, a feminist cornerstone, has been defeated. She returns home and finds she and Wald are deeply in debt, which Wald blames on their accountant. They divorce, sell the house, and Reddy retires from show business in the early 1980s.

In 1989, Traci approaches her to perform at a feminist rally in Washington, D.C. Reddy demurs at first, but the film ends with her performing “I Am Woman” in the National Mall, with thousands of her fellow activists singing along.