★ 9 / 10
Sometimes it takes a movie to help set
Brent Marchant
Sometimes it takes a movie to help set the record straight. And, when it comes to designating who truly is the king of rock ’roll, this documentary from…
Sometimes it takes a movie to help set the record straight. And, when it comes to designating who truly is the king of rock ’roll, this documentary from director Lisa Cortes does just that. Richard Wayne Penniman – professionally known as Little Richard (1932-2020) – burst onto the pop music scene in the mid-1950s with a singular, unrestrained, high-energy style that set him apart from other aspiring performers at the time, achieving tremendous success with hits like “Tutti Fruitti” and “Long Tall Sally,” among others. However, even though he developed a strong following and a reputation for chart-busting releases, he never quite attained the widespread notoriety of others, like Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, particularly when they covered his hits. He also didn’t achieve the financial success that he deserved, thanks to record labels that gave him raw deals. What’s more, as a flamboyant, openly gay Black musician at a time when those qualities were far from well tolerated, he became a target for ostracism and scorn from conservative circles, whose leaders spouted inflammatory claims that he was undermining the moral fabric of traditional American culture with his “decadent” music and “perverted” lifestyle. Yet his blend of colorful performances, mixed with outlandish costumes, pancake makeup and frenetic stage antics and backed by tunes that fused boogie woogie, rhythm & blues and gospel, made him a standout, a style that countless artists drew from – and openly acknowledged his influence – when they emerged in their own right, many of whom are interviewed in the film in archive footage or recent conversations. The result here is a revelatory examination of someone who set a standard but who never received the degree of recognition he merited until many years after his debut on the music scene. “Little Richard: I Am Everything” features a wealth of historical footage, including many interviews with the artist himself, along with observations from the likes of Mick Jagger, Billy Porter, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Nona Hendryx and superfan filmmaker John Watters, as well as an array of music industry, African-American and gay community historians. Viewers are likely to come away from this offering knowing a lot about Little Richard that they hadn’t known previously, enabling them to gain a new appreciation for the rock icon and learning much about the many triumphs and challenges he faced during his colorfully enigmatic life. Audiences are sure to come away from this one proclaiming “Long live rock – and the king who finally gets to wear his much-deserved crown.”
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★ 7 / 10
I admit to not really knowing so much
CinemaSerf
I admit to not really knowing so much about this enigmatic and flamboyant man, and I found this effort from Lisa Cortes to be quite an engaging and…
I admit to not really knowing so much about this enigmatic and flamboyant man, and I found this effort from Lisa Cortes to be quite an engaging and enlightening introduction. Using a mix of actuality and some soundbites, we are presented with an observational documentary of an outwardly gay man who can truly claim to have "invented" rock 'n roll - with over a dozen, instantly recognisable, toe-tappers to his name. As ever, we have the usual music industry shenanigans, his flirtations with sex, drugs, booze and ultimately, his rediscovery of religion as possibly his only lifeline. It's a well paced analysis but I could have been doing with more of his actual performances - especially as his songs tended to be so very short. It's still quite astonishing that so much footage does still exist and the use of the early material really does work well to illustrate not just how captivating he was as an entertainer, but also how effective he - and his music - was at offering some (limited) conduits for racial and sexual integration at a time when segregation was still rife and homosexuality still very much illegal. A fascinating insight not just into this man, but into the times in which he flourished; of the influential role his music played around the USA at the time, and well worth a watch.
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★ 7 / 10
Rousing documentary about the larger-than-life rock icon
paul-allaer
As "Little Richard: I Am Everything" (2023 release; 101 min.) opens, we heard from various talking heads. One of them sums it up like this: "He spit on every…
As "Little Richard: I Am Everything" (2023 release; 101 min.) opens, we heard from various talking heads. One of them sums it up like this: "He spit on every rule there ever was in music". "He" of course being Little Richard. We then go back in time to the early 1930s in Macon, Georgia. It might as well be the 1830s, that is how remote Macon was from everything. In that backwards, if not openly racist, midst, Little Richard was finding his way... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.
Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from Black director Lisa Cortes ("All In: The Fight For Democracy"). Here she reassesses the life and times of a rock icon who never truly received what he deserved, either critically or commercially. But that didn't stop him from pushing on. This is a rousing documentary from start to finish. Little Richard knew all too well what was going on. Or as he puts it towards the end of this enjoyable documentary: "We built the highway and they they still driving it and not paying toll".
"Little Richard: I Am Everything" was released earlier this year, to immediate acclaim. It is now playing on HBO and streaming on Max, where I saw it the other night. There is good reason why this movie is currently rated 98% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and I fully expect it will get a Best Documentary Oscar nomination in early 2024. If you have any interest in Little Richard or the history of rock and roll, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
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I don't know that the reviewer El-Kapitoshka in the Movie Reviews is talking about. There is plenty of discussion of his religious views, in fact I would say it is a major theme in this film.