Review - Katy Perry Part of Me

Musical Cotton Candy and I Like It

So many people know Katy Perry as “kissing a girl and liking it” but nothing else. Turns out she isn’t an overnight success with no history of hard work. There’s much more to Katy Perry than you know and Part of Me is going to fill you in on all the details.

Katy has always had musical abilities. From singing songs that she wrote with her first guitar in her hands to the present, she has known how to write songs from her heart. The daughter of a pair of preachers it wasn’t until a sleepover at a friend’s house that she was exposed to Alanis Morisette and a new world of music outside of the Christian music genre that was a pivotal part of her life. After an initial release of a Christian album, she headed to Hollywood to try to make it in the music business.

Years later, after a couple of failed attempts at putting records together she finally found a home, and the rest is history.

Part of Me follows Perry through a world tour that would test her strength, her mettle and her relationship. Touring around the world with few days off is tough enough, but when you are spending those few days off traveling half way around the world to be with your husband, it can get exhausting.

The film takes us behind the scenes of a show with incredible production values. This is a stage show that will take your breath away. Even if you aren’t a fan of Perry’s music, you can’t deny the visuals of her tour. You also see her relationship with husband Russell Brand and her attempts to make things work. On top of that you see the result of a stressful tour and personal relationship struggle.

I found myself immediately drawn to the story. Katy Perry really did work to get accomplish her goals. There is no overnight sensation here, instead it took years and struggles that most singers experience to get to the point of her “overnight” success.

Perry is extremely likable and you can’t help but invest yourself in her personal and professional developments throughout the film. Song choices are spot on and really enhance the journey.

My only criticism is, I would have liked to have seen more of the early years. The sound on her first two albums seems slightly different from the sound she has now, but still very intriguing. But there is only a taste of that Katy.

In the tradition of fun music documentaries that have been the trend lately, Katy Perry: Part of Me is a great time at the movies. Fans will love the flash, the music and the spectacle but they will also love the reality of who the woman she has become. This documentary should be a part of any collection.

B+

Katy Perry: Part of Me

Paramount Pictures

Director: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz

Cast: Katy Perry

Rating: PG- for some suggestive content, language, thematic elements and brief smoking.

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes