20 Feet from Stardom
Composite Score: 83.03
Featuring: Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, Lou Adler, Stevvi Alexander, Patti Austin, Chris Botti, Todd Boyd, Susaye Green, Cissy Houston, Mick Jagger, Gloria Jones, David Lasley, and Claudia Lennear
Director: Morgan Neville
Writer: Morgan Neville
Genres: Documentary, Biography, History, Music
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language and sexual material
Box Office: $5.84 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
20 Feet from Stardom is a documentary from Morgan Neville about background singers. It focuses specifically on the work and impact of black female background singers, centering on the careers of four different women – Darlene Love, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill, and Claudia Lennear – looking at the way that the music industry treats background vocalists and particularly black women. Its blend of professional interviews, archive footage, and new musical performances creates an experience that is both entertaining and informative for the audience, earning an Oscar for best documentary, feature, to cap it all off.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
While the songs and musicians featured in the documentary are fairly recognizable, 20 Feet from Stardom remains a documentary about a specific interest, and people who do not share that interest will inevitably find it more difficult to engage with. What helps with this one is the surprising number of musical connections that exist from the 1950s to the 2000s among all the different men and women that feature in the film, providing plenty of potential connection for audiences. For people who are legitimately not interested in how the sausage of the music industry gets made, the film probably still won’t have quite as much resonance, though the stories of women pursuing their dreams and how they turned out offers a bit more than just basic music history. It’s better than some other documentaries at providing connections for those watching, but it remains potentially too informative for some tastes.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
20 Feet from Stardom delivers its information almost as a tapestry, weaving together loosely connected stories into a cohesive narrative that touches on the music industry, racism, sexism, and the universal desire to achieve one’s dreams. In highlighting the four women that it does, it provides four distinct perspectives on the world of background singing, each connecting differently to those of us watching. Darlene Love is most likely the most familiar, as she started out as a background singer before becoming a relatively successful recording artist, known especially for her Christmas song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Lisa Fischer provides an example of someone who could have made it even bigger but found satisfaction and security in background singing that still allowed her freedom of expression. Judith Hill’s story is still unfolding as her rise to stardom hasn’t yet quite solidified and she is still working to decide where she will end up after achieving some fame when she sang at Michael Jackson’s funeral. And Claudia Lennear gives an example of a successful background singer who tried and failed to go solo, leaving the industry entirely as a result. Each one has something different to offer, and each one also has her story accentuated by the voices of even more interviews with other singers, musicians, and historians, creating a beautiful blend of talent and story. The way these women’s experiences are blended together in the documentary is reminiscent of the blending of melody with harmonies in songs featuring background vocalists, a testament to the work of the filmmakers who won their well-deserved Academy Award for this film.
20 Feet from Stardom has reached its place of greatness because it provides a plethora of familiar connections for audiences while introducing them to something new that they may never have thought to ask about in a beautiful blend of storytelling and interviews that touches on industry and societal issues in the midst of personal connections. Though plentiful, its connections might not resonate with every audience, and some will inevitably find it tougher to wade through than others, but for those interested, 20 Feet from Stardom provides plenty of food for thought to last you for a while. This film is currently available to stream via DirecTV or to rent on most streaming platforms if you’re looking for a solid documentary.
