Greetings,
Okay, let's just get this out of the way. I am not a Katy Perry fan. Never have been, probably never will be. Now do I like a couple of her songs? Sure. I don't deny anyone if they do something good, but it's obvious that the only ones I like are the songs in which she does not include some kind of gimmick. So not very many. Still, I put this documentary on my Netflix queue, because I thought "Why not?" I guess if I want to be taken seriously as a critic at all, I'll have to watch things that I'm probably not going to like. That's when things can get tragic, or fun, if you're lucky. Plus, my curiosity was piqued about how this film might affect my feelings about Miss Perry. I thought it would either make me like her a little a bit or not like her even more. Surprisingly, it kind of did neither. So she didn't gain any ground with me, but, then again, she didn't lose any. Anyway, let's get to the film.
Katy Perry: Part of Me is pretty much fifty percent documentary and fifty percent concert movie, the latter of which was apparently in 3D, if you saw it in the theater. There's not a ton to be said about the concert footage, other than that it's a Katy Perry concert. That's about it, but that was probably the point. All of it was a bit over the top, for my taste, like she was overcompensating for something. I do understand that when people pay as much money as they probably do they want a big show, and that's what they got. I personally could get more entertainment at a concert that consists of Tori Amos and her piano, but again, that's just my preference. Katy Perry fans, on the other hand, clearly want more. Oh, yeah, about her fans. Many years ago as I watched I Love the 80's on VH1 and they were talking about Madonna, a comedian said that he could not have hated Madonna more, and he could not have hated her fans more. That statement reminded me of this. Basically, if you hate Katy Perry because you think she's annoying, DO NOT watch this film! Because you'll probably be driven to insanity by her fans. I get that they like her, but some lines should not be crossed. Even I, as a young girl and a major fan of, let's say, New Kids on the Block, knew better. I was never a squealer, for example. I never said that I would one day be married to one of them. Perhaps, that was because I never wanted footage of myself saying such things to be featured on a show like E! True Hollywood Story. Think ahead, children, think ahead.
Okay, it looks like in that last paragraph I went from discussing the live performance aspect to the documentary style sections, so let's just full on get to that. Again, the documentary part can be divided into two things as well, half being behind the scenes of the tour stuff, the other half being Katy's back story, though it does all blend together more easily. The tour footage is pretty much what you'd expect, for the most part, up until we get to her breakup with Russell Brand. Yeah, how do you like that? She starts the movie married, and by the end, not so much. Kidding aside, I suppose I do have to admire her for being open about that, since she was obviously devastated, and for taking the stage for her fans despite her being in tears up until her show started. It says something about a person who is loyal to those who helped make her successful. If I do have to make one big criticism about the performances, though, it would be this. If you are going to sing a song in your movie, particularly a song as famous as "Hey, Jude", learn the words. Yeah, we saw you looking down at the lyrics, Katy. Seriously?
Now the rest of the doc was probably the most interesting, sort of, as we follow Katy on her musical journey from childhood to present day. I actually already knew about what this movie showed concerning her upbringing, specifically her Christian upbringing. I also knew that she basically turned her back on it in order to achieve fame, fortune and, in her mind, artistic liberation. Like, U2 style. Yeah, bad news, Katy. You can maintain a Christian life whilst expressing yourself artistically. I do it everyday. Just saying. Moving on.
We also get some stories from her early days in L.A. where she started working with Glen Ballard, of all people. And here I thought that whole thing with him and Alanis Morissette was just a fluke. But, apparently, if you just walk up to his house, knock on the door and say, "I'm a songwriter, and I've got songs" he'll invite you in for a listen. If I would have known I could do that when I was twenty, I totally would have. Anyway, we then move on to her work with producers and songwriters, The Matrix, which didn't work out that great, and her being moved around to different record companies, until she finally gets to the fame for which we all know her. And that's it.
So is this a good documentary? Well, if you're a fan, you'll love it. If you're not so much, you might get some entertainment out of it, but that could be a stretch. If you hate her and her music, don't even bother, unless you want to hate her more. Like I said, this movie had little effect on me. I don't hate Katy Perry; I'm just not a fan. This really didn't change my opinion of her that much, in either direction. I mean, she's there. Katy Perry exists, and so does this documentary. That's about it.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
