I don't know what went wrong. I'm not a huge fan of her music, but any documentary that involves artists and music usually pass as "good" to me. People have criticized Gaga's personality, mentioning how she comes across as self-absorbed, and how this documentary is just an act of self-indulgence. For me, the biggest issue was how this documentary seemed to promise real "intimacy" with a world-famous superstar, and gave none of that.
How can you judge someone's personality on this material? I know she just compared making music with having open heart surgery,(??) and she does seem to be oblivious to other people - but maybe it was just an attempt to get enough material about her, so that she could finish the damn documentary. She didn't seem into it at all.
The intense music, the artsy slow-motion camera, Gaga being massaged, Gaga with her family, Gaga feeding her dogs; it seems as if though every single person on the crew tried their very best to suggest something deep, but it all amounts to nothing. It is probably the most forced documentary I have ever seen.
Early on, Gaga complains about sexism in the industry, and how she's forced to always be sexualized; and that, in order to not go crazy, she'd always manage to "twist" things just a bit - add an obscure element on her shows, like blood - in order to feel like she was in control. Did she not feel in control when she made this documentary? Because all you get from her, is a few blanket statements, repeated over and over again with different choices of words. Yes, you'll get to see her exhibit authentic state fright, and you'll see her in physical pain, but most of all, you will see her talking about deep stuff in a shallow way, or watch her dance around in skimpy Instagram outfits, with brows to match.
Maybe she really does have nothing else to offer - I have seen people's brains and empathy slowly melt away before, simply because they couldn't smoke weed in moderation. And everyone knows what fame does to one's sense of self. But maybe Gaga just didn't feel like giving what it takes for a documentary like this to be good. Maybe she thought that if she just talked about women's issues in front of her stoned friends - who are either bad actors, bad friends, or simply hated how staged it was - and maybe if she had enough conversations about nothing,(but they all end with a hug!) it would come across as if she actually let us in close.
Well, she didn't. It just comes across as a failed experiment.
How can you judge someone's personality on this material? I know she just compared making music with having open heart surgery,(??) and she does seem to be oblivious to other people - but maybe it was just an attempt to get enough material about her, so that she could finish the damn documentary. She didn't seem into it at all.
The intense music, the artsy slow-motion camera, Gaga being massaged, Gaga with her family, Gaga feeding her dogs; it seems as if though every single person on the crew tried their very best to suggest something deep, but it all amounts to nothing. It is probably the most forced documentary I have ever seen.
Early on, Gaga complains about sexism in the industry, and how she's forced to always be sexualized; and that, in order to not go crazy, she'd always manage to "twist" things just a bit - add an obscure element on her shows, like blood - in order to feel like she was in control. Did she not feel in control when she made this documentary? Because all you get from her, is a few blanket statements, repeated over and over again with different choices of words. Yes, you'll get to see her exhibit authentic state fright, and you'll see her in physical pain, but most of all, you will see her talking about deep stuff in a shallow way, or watch her dance around in skimpy Instagram outfits, with brows to match.
Maybe she really does have nothing else to offer - I have seen people's brains and empathy slowly melt away before, simply because they couldn't smoke weed in moderation. And everyone knows what fame does to one's sense of self. But maybe Gaga just didn't feel like giving what it takes for a documentary like this to be good. Maybe she thought that if she just talked about women's issues in front of her stoned friends - who are either bad actors, bad friends, or simply hated how staged it was - and maybe if she had enough conversations about nothing,(but they all end with a hug!) it would come across as if she actually let us in close.
Well, she didn't. It just comes across as a failed experiment.