I have a great love for music matched with an even stronger eagerness to learn, so when I realized that there were four documentaries for prominent female singers that I hadn't seen. I knew I had to watch through them, and tell you which were worth the hype, which weren't, an official ranking, and a score. These documentaries included; Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You, Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé, Gaga: Five Foot Two, and Taylor Swift: Miss Americana.
In 4th place, taking the spot of the film I liked the least is....
4. Ariana Grande: Excuse Me, I Love You
Rating: 6.5/10
Ariana Grande's documentary was not bad by any means, it's just wasn't at all what I was expected. Rather than being a very clear documentary like the other films, Grande's took a different turn and gave us primary concerts with a touch of documentaries, which is where it fell flat. The other documentaries were thought-provoking and inspiring, whereas this one just left me contemplating attending an Ariana Grande concert in the future.
The Best Part:
I loved the end of this documentary, it ended with Grande's last concert in London, and it was very emotional and the perfect way to tie the film with a bow.
The Worst Part:
ALL the concerts. I love a concert as much as the next person, but watching multiple concerts on a tv is much different than going in person, along with it just not being what I expected.
Overall, Grande's documentary was okay. I would recommend it to an Ariana Grande superfan, but probably not anyone else. The documentary was also directed by Paul Dugdale and Story Syndicate, but was produced by Grande herself with members of her team.
Just a bit above Grande's documentary in third place is....
3. Gaga: Five Foot Two
Rating: 7/10
I have been a casual fan of Lady Gaga for a long time, so when I realized she had a documentary I was excited to watch it. But, I quickly realized that the documentary was extremely intense taking a deep dive into the life of Lady Gaga and what had been going on during the years she wasn't as prominent. It was all a lot to take in and didn't exactly increase my love for Gaga.
The Best Part:
This was another documentary where I liked the end of it. A large portion of the documentary is leading up to Gaga's Superbowl Performance, and the end of the film features her reaction to finishing her performance, which made me sigh a huge sigh of relief.
The Worst Part:
The documentary almost felt too revealing. There were certain moments where Gaga got in a huge disagreement with her producer, acted irrationally, or had a mental breakdown that I almost felt like I shouldn't be watching. I think those moments were supposed to be vulnerable moments but didn't read that way.
Overall, Gaga's documentary was good and taught me a lot about her life, but it was intense and had to take in when I had expected a more lighthearted film. Her film was directed by Chris Moukarbel and stars Gaga and all her friends, family, producers, stylists, and more.
Taking second place more than two points above third is....
2. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
Rating: 9.4/10
I knew the moment that I started this film that I was going to love it. Though it doesn't go too deeply into the life of Beyoncé, it goes into the background of her performance at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and what she wanted to represent with her performance. It also was a powerful document of her return to performing after her pregnancy. This one I was far more okay with it being a bit more concert-based because that concert was absolutely badass.
The Best Part:
Seeing Beyoncé's relationship with her children, and her return to performing. It's so incredibly inspiring. She's a mom, trying to balance everything, but also trying to return to the thing she loves, and you see how ambitious and strong-minded she is to be able to make it all work.
The Worst Part:
The film is primarily freaking fantastic, there is only one tiny part I struggle with. When she is talking about preparing for Coachella, she mentions how much she is restricting herself with no dairy, no carbs, no sugar, no meat, etc, and then shows herself fitting into a smaller costume, which could potentially encourage young women to over-restrict, and probably should have been left out. But, that was my only issue with the film.
I knew how amazing Beyoncé is before I watched this documentary, but the entire documentary serves as a testimony of how incredible and strong of a woman she is. The documentary is riddled with beautiful quotes from empowering women and will leave you sitting there wondering how she does it all. This documentary also serves as a strong message to young people of color that they can accomplish everything they dream of. Oh, and Beyonce may be a busy momma trying to balance it all, but she also directs this film.
and finally in first place....
1. Taylor Swift: Miss Americana
Rating: 9.6/10
I've always had a weird love-ehh relationship with Taylor Swift's music, I loved her early albums like Fearless and Speak Now, but as I aged it was harder to ignore all the noise of people who didn't like Taylor, and I fell out of love with her music. But, in the past couple of months, I have fallen back in love with her, and when I watched her documentary, I couldn't help but be inspired and traumatized that I ever "didn't like her."
The Best Part:
Right in the middle, Taylor has a difficult decision to make. She wants to speak up about her values when it comes to politics, we see her fighting with her family about what the right thing to do is, share her heart, and open herself to hate, or say nothing. She couldn't not speak up, and later got to celebrate Donald Trump liking her music 25 percent less.
The Worst Part:
I have no notes. I loved it.
Taylor Swift's Miss Americana thrived were the other films struggled, it features a solid amount of concert paired with the perfect amount of information the pulled back the curtain just a bit and let us into the life of Taylor Swift without being too revealing. The film was empowering and fantastic, but the more documentary-like storyline with a tasteful amount of concert features is what brought it to the top.
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