Leadership and loneliness in "Gaga: Five Foot Two"

I wouldn't say I'm a Lady Gaga fan: I recognize her songs on the radio, but I'm not really capable of recognizing her in un-captioned photographs -- you know, the ones where her look changes drastically and frequently, but you're confident she wasn't born THAT way.



I stumbled upon her new documentary on Netflix, though, and searched for some recent news articles of her to understand some of the events that were being portrayed. She shows us some very human parts of her:

• Near the opening, she almost sheepishly explains that balloons line her staircase to celebrate a milestone in a film project.
• She asks her grandma if she "got it right" after she played her a song about her aunt who died at age 19. I got the impression that grandma didn't really know what to say, so she affirmed her and responded with a very grandma-esque warning: "Don’t become maudlin over all this.”
• As filmmaker Chris Moukarbel points out in an interview, she almost always is being touched by someone during the day. In the thrones of heartbreak, though, we hear her crying and explaining that after everyone leaves, her big house is empty. Most of us have felt the ache of an empty home once or twice.
• For as glammed up as we've seen her in public, without makeup and designer clothes, she doesn't always look that attractive (which is fine -- appearances don't make the person. For me, it just humanized her in a way other portrayals wouldn't.)

What I enjoyed most, though, were the moments viewers got to see the serious Gaga: when she was offering direction for her next major look (a black and white "uniform" of sorts), when she explained pointedly to costume designers why certain issues needed to be fixed immediately so she could get the best use of her limited practice time, when she tried to pump up presumably exhausted staff members. In the mix of attitudes and issues we see her tackle, it's nice to see her in situations where she's taking charge and exhibiting leadership.

Some, including The New Yorker's Amanda Petrusich, have questioned how "authentic" and unscripted these glimpses are. It doesn't bother me, though, that Lady Gaga discusses major transformations or presenting the unexpected only to deliver music and costumes similar to what she's done in the past. Over-emphasizing change and well, over-selling yourself, seem to be part of humane nature.

There are few people qualified to judge how vulnerable Gaga truly is in "Gaga: Five Foot Two" but I enjoyed it. I think other casual viewers will, too.