mr_bickle_the_pickle Review of Gaga: Five Foot Two

Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017)

I wish the doc had been made better for such a great artist

[6/10 · 24 September 2017]

I feel like this doc didn't really hit its stride until towards the end. I feel like at first it was struggling to find its narrative and felt more like a bunch of random clips strewn together. The main focus is really the making of Joanne. You get a little bit of the moments leading up to Super Bowl and there is also a bit of backstory with her pain. But obviously the overall focus is the album Joanne. And so, some parts felt random. There's one point where she attends a baptism for one of her family members. But it adds nothing to the movie. There's no lead up to it and it's not like you get any interviews with the family or even see her interact much with her family. You see her take some family photos and then later on walk around the reception as some music plays over (added in post) and then it cuts right back to her in a recording studio. I sat there and just thought "What was the point of that"? And there was another moment that bugged me where Gaga is on the phone with a friend who just came back from the doctor and her Tumor had not shrunk/gone away. It's a pretty serious moment and Gaga gets all teary and she tells her friend she'll see her soon. But then nothing comes out of it. I mean who knows, maybe her friend didn't want to be filmed, but you never see Gaga address it or her friend again until the last 5 min when she shows up at the super bowl. It felt like it was forgotten about. I'm not saying Gaga is a terrible friend in real life but from a narrative point of view it felt like another random bit to thrown in since there wasn't any follow up to it. All that being said though, I don't think it was awful. There was some interesting things to learn about Gaga and to see her be vulnerable. There was also a really humorous scene with her in a Target. If you're a fan of a Gaga, I do think there will be something in this for you.