Also very little footage from the early 90s when all of this was taking place. Roth mostly interviews Blige and a number of people who were around tat that time (Sean "Diddy" Combs, etc.) but there is very little insight from any of them. That aside, the documentary is at best mildly entertaining or insightful. This is touted as the 25th anniversary of that album, and perhaps this was filmed in 2019, the actual 25th anniversary but of course now upon its release we are 2 years later. Blige's 1994 album "My Life" meant for Blige. Couple of comments: this documentary is the latest from director by Vanessa Roth (who won an Oscar for the 2007 short documentary "Freeheld"). "The demo shows the pain of a generation", he observes, and before we know it, Blige has recorded her 1992 debut album "What's the 411?" and then a few years later comes "My Life". Blige had a good voice, and at one point a demo comes to the attention of a producer. We then go back in time, to her upbringing in "the projects" in New York, where life was tough, and her heroes were people like Aretha Franklin. "I've done pretty much all I've wanted to do" Blige comments. Blige's My Life" (2021 release 82 min.) opens, we are reminded of Blige's many accomplishments, including 9 Grammys and 50 million records sold worldwide. Pathetic shallow money product to put on shelves for fans of any age to buy while buying a T-shirt and a mug with her name on it.Īs "Mary J. A terrible lame product which mocks the term documentary, more like a product of her PR team and created to be "appropriate" for "ages from 5 to 95" with no bad words, no portrayals of how bad her life actually got, no truth or what it took for her character to be forged. This film does a huge disservice to her image and the strenght she possessed to stay upright after all that has happened. Except a few passing mentions of life in projects and how tough life is there is absolutely nothing worthwhile said specifically about her struggles, her life, how she saved herself. Supervillian : making of Takashi 69 (i dont like him or music but the docu is first class) where you really get the sense of how his character was built, who he is and what he is about, nothing of that is present in this doc. But judging from this documentary you definitely dont feel or sense that. Blige’s biggest 90s hits along with rare remixes on the HERstory Vol.1 collection.We all know Mary J Blige as this raw, strong and tough yet kind hearted soft inside woman with a powerful voice, who had her share of trouble and hardships in life. In other film news, Blige will be on the big screen this summer, playing Dinah Washington in the forthcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, which will hit theaters on August 13. Late last month, the queen of hip-hop soul became a part of Harlem history after she was inducted into the Apollo Theater’s historic Walk of Fame on Friday May 28.
Blige’s My Life drops on Amazon Prime Video on June 25.
Quincy Jones is the executive music producer. “To give them more insight into who I was and who I am now, where I’ve come from and where I still want to go and break down an album that completely changed everything for me.”īlige is an executive producer on the project with Sean “Diddy” Combs. “Through all the highs and lows my one constant has been my fans, and I wanted to make this documentary for them,” said Blige. In addition, the nine-time GRAMMY-winner will celebrated the 25th anniversary of her album by performing it live for first time in the documentary. In the documentary, which comes from Oscar-winning filmmaker Vannessa Roth, Blige “reveals the demons and blessings that inspired the record and propelled her from the soul-crushing world of New York’s housing projects to international stardom,” according to its official logline. “Going back and reliving that time and that music felt like an out-of-body experience, but one I’m so humbled by.” “ My Life is the album that really bonded me with my fans who have since been along for what turned out to be a crazy ride,” Blige, 50, said in a statement to PEOPLE.