'Jagged' is a 2021 documentary from HBO and their Music Box series of films. It is directed by Alison Klayman and focuses on the meteoric rise in the mid 90's of Canadian female singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette off the success of her insanely popular Jagged Little Pill album. As a 90's teen Alanis and Jagged Little Pill were among my favorite things in that decade. She bucked a lot of trends even among the cadre of Lilith Fair females that were making music at that time. I feel a lot of modern music artists from Taylor Swift to Adele to Cardi B and more make a lot of money off of songs and albums that really delve their personal triumph and tragedy and I believe for many of those women Jagged Little Pill was a revelatory album that showed them the path of harnessing those thoughts, emotions and feelings into song. The documentary features candid interviews from Alanis herself as well as some key figures around her at the time including her bandmates and producer. It is notable that Morissette wound up divorcing herself from this documentary project saying she didn't agree with the vision the film maker had and she felt taken advantage of. I am unaware of what, specifically, in the movie she takes issue with as, for the most part, it is a pretty basic retelling of her rise to fame, the release of Pill and the subsequent tour. While a straighforward documentary Alanis' story is a good one and the doc hit my 90's nostalgia bone perfectly so I thoroughly enjoyed watching this while reminiscing on days gone by. It was great to revisit one of my favorite artists and albums of the 1990's.
Eric's Grade: B.
Eric's Grade: B.