When I had seen this on Netflix I knew that I had to watch it. I have been one of Gaga’s Little Monsters from the start. Those of you who know my PSN tag could probably already tell that, so it was a given that when this documentary premiered that I just had to watch it. I was a little nervous about the length because sometimes that can go in either a good direction or a bad one. Keep reading to see what I thought of the documentary as a whole.
Gaga: Five Foot Two, stars Lady Gaga. That’s kind of a given right? Anyway, it’s basically a documentary that follows her as she makes her fifth studio album Joanne. Not only does the documentary show an inside look into her writing and recording process, but it also gives an inside look into Lady Gaga herself. It shows the emotional struggles that she goes through on a daily basis as well as her physical struggles. All of this leads up to her amazing half time performance at this past years Super Bowl. You get this small sneak peek into her family life as it shows her interactions with her mother, father, and grandmother as well as some of the struggles she faced while filming American Horror Story: Roanoke. There’s even some stuff in there about her feud with Madonna.
I genuinely enjoyed this documentary. I thought that after Lady Gaga’s first three albums, The Fame, The Fame Monster, and Born This way, that the fourth one, Artpop, fell a little flat and I didn’t even purchase it. I did however purchase Joanne because it felt like Lady Gaga was going back to her original roots with the album and it sounded more like the Lady Gaga that I had come to admire and respect. Although I felt that it was a hit and miss with some songs, I absolutely loved Perfect Illusion and A Million Reasons, I thought that other songs fell flat. That was until I watched this documentary. I have a new found respect for this album especially the song Joanne. I had known a little bit of the back story, but knowing the full story and watching Lady Gaga present the song to her grandmother was just heartbreaking. I feel the same way about the rest of the album now and it’s all because of this documentary.
An inside look into Lady Gaga and who she is, is a little confusing at times and I imagine that’s just how she is. Her mind works differently and although she’s a brilliant song writer and performer that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t struggle. During the course of the documentary, she does a good job of opening up and not only showing her physical pain but her mental pain as well. It made her seem more relatable and human. She’s known for being put up on this platform, but this documentary kind of normalizes her and it’s not a bad thing.
Overall I give this movie a 4.5 out of 5.
This is going to be a must for any Lady Gaga fan as it shows how she created her alum Joanne all the way to her busting her ass to get that half time performance at the Super Bowl. While at times the documentary was a little slow and had its moments that seemed a little off balanced, it was still watchable and enjoyable. After all these years I have a new found respect for Lady Gaga and her writing process, not to mention a new found respect and understanding for her latest album Joanne. If you’re not a Lady Gaga fan, I’m going to say that you should probably give this a chance because she’s not the same person that you see in the media and everywhere else. It’s just the persona that she takes on. It’s a good documentary and should at least be given a chance to see what an amazing song writer and performer this woman is.
1 Broke Gamer Girl 