Review of Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017) by Gerry W — 24 Sep 2017

A sobering and fascinating look into Lady Gaga's life as she turns 30, "Gaga: Five Foot Two" takes viewers on a brisk tour of the whirlwind surrounding the creation and release of her newest album and the lead-up to her (what turned out to be) spectacular Super Bowl performance.

As the closing credits roll there are also quick shots of her "Joanne" world concert tour, which was just postponed due to her struggle with fibromyalgia, vividly illustrated here, too. Frankly, this documentary does a great job of convincing most of us we'd never survive the pressures and details of her life.

Some of it is exhilarating and fun, of course (thank heavens), but much of it is endless pressure, enduring hours of makeup, styling, personal appearances, fan crushes, slights by fellow performers, and on and on.

She has always made it clear from the start she will be hanging it all out there, not hiding the sadder and uglier sides of stardom and performance art, and you do get the feeling her entire life (except for the moments alone in her bedroom late at night, which she describes in a very sad moment that anyone whose ever felt truly alone in this world while in bed in the middle of the night will identify with) is on display by her choice, as she struggles to grow as a person and woman, fulfill her dreams of artistic creation, and head toward being a productive, creative, and vital old person, as she also candidly describes in another striking moment.

Her entire life so far, then, has become a performance art piece. I was lucky enough to see her in two of her recent concert appearances, in San Francisco and Sacramento, and in both very different versions of the show (outdoor stadium and indoor arena) what struck me most was her raw energy, beautiful, strong voice, and the more personal moments when she described why she released "Joanne," the newest album: the song of the same name, where her voice rises to a stunning clarity during the repeated chorus, left me hearing that same moment over and over in my head to this day, and seeing her here play that same song for her grandmother's first listen from her tinny iPhone speaker only made the song more indelible for me.

Gaga may have a messy, intense life, but she sure can have moments of pure clarity in the midst of it all, and this documentary captures that beautifully.