Review of 20 Feet from Stardom (2013) by Jonathan D — 13 Jul 2014

Having seen all the OTHER Oscar nominated documentaries, my money was on "The Square". Now I've caught the last of the five and... I'd still support the earlier political drama about the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution... but this Oscar winner stands as very deserving.

It is much better than the similar "Standing In The Shadow of Motown" about the session musicians on all those hits. What sets this apart is the fact that these backup singers get to show their own personalities and aspirations much more thoroughly. In the first third we meet these fantastic voices and the women behind them. Often they say that they're perfectly pleased with their role singing back up. But then the movie gets into the other story - that often there are failures and frustrations. Sometimes these women were deliberately held back in their careers; sometimes things just didn't work out. We all LOVED the work Merry Clayton did on "Let It Bleed" - she was a superstar to many of us. Why didn't she go solo? Then we see the albums she did release, and I remember seeing some of them at the college radio station... where they got ignored.

When the film was over, I really did feel sympathy with these singers. If you grew up with 70's music, this documentary will really hit you.