High school speechmakers demonstrate the power of the podium in Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman’s moving documentary Speak. (A). By telling the behind-the-scenes stories of a quintet of top-ranked students in the national speech and debate category called “original oratory” in which they deliver the teenage equivalent of TED Talks, viewers get an insider look at the purpose and passions of the next generation. Chronicling nearly a year of one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions also means a fascinating glimpse into the family dynamics, lives and loves and heartland hobbies driving these talented young people. Snippets of some of the subjects’ best original works prove very inspiring. The race to the championship may not match the pace or profit of high school sports, but the impact proves undeniable after watching these kids in action.
The honey and apples fall fabulously far from the family tree as 39th generation ex-Orthodox Jew Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie radically reinvents religion and ritual in Sandi DuBowski’s Sabbath Queen (B+). Spanning more than two decades, with animation filling in some of the ancestral details, this entertaining and insightful documentary chronicles the nonconforming descendent of the Chief Rabbis of Israel as he questions conventions at every stage of his journey. Sampling elements from all walks of life, faith and identity, Amichai leverages his drag queen persona, life as a queer bio-dad and his role as a crusader for human rights in his quest to keep faith fresh and relevant. The thesis includes notions that sacred prayers for peace and protection and entreaties to “Preach, gurl!” all have worth on a walk of faith, but the film often pierces deeply into long-standing norms. At first the protagonist’s bucking of tradition seems to ruffle the feathers of the elders, and soon the doc showcases encounters in Israel with people who deeply disapprove of him and don’t hold back about their disdain for his lifestyle and approach. Viewers won’t agree with every nuance of the subject’s iterative approach to identity and inclusiveness, but tracing his path proves fruitful and fascinating.
SEE IT: This recommended documentary makes its Atlanta premiere at Atlanta Jewish Film Festival February 23 at 4:45pm at Plaza Theatre Atlanta:
You won’t want to miss a thing in this pop song filled documentary ode to one of the world’s most successful hit-makers. Director Bess Kargman’s documentary Diane Warren: Relentless (A-) depicts a fascinating woman who was born to be a songwriting phenomenon. Famously talked about during nearly every Oscars season including this one for her record number of Best Song nominations without a category win — although she recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award statuette — Warren is known publicly for her melodic missives of uplift but authentically opens up about the challenges of her own life which are sometimes far from the stuff of a love ballad. Cher, Jennifer Hudson, Gloria Estefan, Beyoncé, Clive Owen and LeAnn Times are among those who describe the origins of Warren’s breakout early hits like “Rhythm of the Night,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now,” “I Get Weak,” “Un-break My Heart” and “If I Could Turn Back Time.” But it’s Warren’s own words about her childhood and her L.A. upbringing as a bullied Jewish girl who becomes an outcast, juvenile delinquent and runaway but always finds solace packing a punch through music-making that are the beating heart of the film. Hers is a fascinating chronicle she tells with gallows humor and the wisdom of years, with rituals and proclivities both amusing and beguiling to her celebrity clientele. Her lifelong friendship with now executive assistant Cindy Wiener is a fun foil to the song queen’s droll depiction of some off her own idiosyncrasies, from her refusal to fall in love in real life to her unconventional relationships with a disapproving mother and a doting father. Viewers will play armchair psychologists even if sometimes kept at arm’s length from some of the mysteries of this genius, but the glimpses into her cat-filled halls of inspiration, bathtub guitar sessions and episodes of overcoming emotional impulses to always transcend as a breakthrough balladeer is a wonder to behold. There’s a poignant series of sequences with Lady Gaga ([Diane] “is insane…ly talented,” says the rock star) about pouring one’s soul into a song with unexpected results which gives a singular lens into the subject’s life and ambitions. Her collaboration with Kesha on a new song “Dear Me” feels destined to be the next lauded Oscars darling, incidentally, adding to the meta-narrative. It’s fascinating to watch the writer of “Because I Loved You” and “How Do I Live” still hustle like she has something to prove. In a time of many dramatized behind-the-scenes biopics about musicians, this doc really gets under the surface at why and how its titular subject does what she does so fabulously.
SEE IT: This highly recommended documentary makes its Atlanta premiere at Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on Oscars Sunday, March 2, 2025, at 1:50pm at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center:
Ah, to be young, gifted, Black and a Lego! Director Morgan Neville’s remarkable stop-motion animated documentary Piece by Piece (B) chronicles the life and career of contemporary musician Pharrell Williams through the kaleidoscopic lens of swirling brick building blocks, with many African-American mini-figurines and whimsical instruments developed specifically for the movie. A singular display of synesthesia as the young trucker hat clad creator imagines beats and compositions coming to life in vivid colors and shapes, the story transports viewers from Virginia Beach garage band grassroots of our hero’s bands The Neptunes and N.E.R.D. to his heights of hit-making for the likes of Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Snoop Dogg and more, not to mention his own iconic anthem “Happy.” The voice cast is stacked. In this unconventional autobiography, Williams is frontin’ faith, falsetto, future centricity and ferocity of imagination while conjuring soundscapes as both performer and producer. The subject finds himself carried away and getting comeuppance, enjoying jokey interludes and participating in solemn episodes of protest and unrest. Undoubtedly the adventurous animation brings the mystical melody and milkshake to the fanboys and girls in the yard, but the film too often skims the plastic surface, glossing over serious moments with mayhem and montage; and Pharrell’s five ho-hum original songs don’t add much to his already catchy catalogue. In terms of its visual palette, however, the movie is a Lego liquid rush of dreamers and drumlines, of freestylin’ and freewheeling creativity, transporting viewers to churches and cookouts, to studios and open seas, like a soulful Saint-Exupery expedition. The Lego aesthetic veers into a variety of textures: mock archival footage, behind the scenes segments, even rap videos and international travelogues with subtitles. The filmmakers’ purity of spirit and uplift and the sheer gorgeousness of the movie’s craft possess the artisan majesty of a picture book brought to life. The movie’s manner and style belie its subject’s seriousness; some will be tempted to drop it like it’s not for them. But this clever deconstruction of both a modern genius and the documentary form showcasing his life and times is undoubtedly Leg-it: a bountiful brick and block party capable of inspiring the next wunderkind of humble origins to dream big.
Trying out different environments for size, two longtime buddies contemplate changes afoot in their lives while embarking on a revelatory journey. Josh Greenbaum’s meditative documentary Will & Harper (A) traces a 17-day westbound road trip across America via station wagon with friends comic actor Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, a 61-year-old comic writer transitioning from male to female. Thoughtful questions, thorny run-ins, poignant discussions and witty encounters mark this life-affirming chronicle as Harper tells her goofy pal no question is off limits. Scored to a jukebox of great needle drops by the likes of Simon & Garfunkel and Bon Iver with some “Wagon Wheel” and “Luck Be a Lady” tossed in for good measure, the film contemplates the notion of living lonely versus living authentically out in the world. Joyful adventures abound, ranging from riding hot air balloons over Albuquerque to standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and the Mighty Mississippi. Acceptance comes in unexpected biker bars, just as a restaurant stopover results in a cascade of mean tweets. Ferrell, known for doing whatever it takes for comedy, tones it down to put his friend on a pedestal (several moments overwhelm him) and assembles some of their well-known Saturday Night Live collaborators for some bright cameos. The movie makes an important statement about friendship and acceptance without ever being preachy or treacly. It’s a beauty of a film.
A debilitating accident that would have banished a mere mortal to a fortress of solitude instead prompts a popular actor to soar even higher as a crusading hero in Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui’s Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (A-). Nearly a decade since his passing, remembered through the eyes of those who knew and loved him, this bittersweet biographical documentary presents the Superman movie actor’s highs and lows as he endeavors to stay grounded in the wake of global superstardom, to break the cycle of a fractured family and distant father and to find power and meaning in his life’s work to advance stem cell science. After an equestrian competition tumble leaves him paralyzed from the neck down, the adrenaline junkie actor turns activist and becomes the man of the masses worthy of his mythic status. Flashbacks to his film career are brief and enjoyable, but this chronicle focuses more on the final chapter of Reeve’s life. It’s also a testament to the love of his life with wife Dana in an intimate and moving portrait of resilience. The film’s format is fairly straightforward, yet a strange connective device in which apparent Kryptonite starts growing on the spine of a cosmos-floating disembodied statue of the actor is not all that fetching. Interviews with the mother of two of Reeve’s children and with his trio of offspring plus fellow thespians Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Daniels and Susan Sarandon enliven the storytelling. And appearances by Christopher’s college roommate and lifelong friend Robin Williams add to the film’s plaintive portrait of a man with steely resolve. The tale of a man who changed the planet, daily, may also challenge viewers’ superpowers of stoicism.
Both a venerable newspaper and a half-century of long-gestating music and cultural movement reclaim global relevance in the excellent documentary The South Got Something to Say (A), directed by The Horne Brothers as the first film created and curated by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. The film, presented this week in competition at the Atlanta Film Festival and now streaming on the newspaper’s website, has been hatched with the imprimatur and immediacy of immersive gonzo journalism. It is a testament to how news coverage can shape-shift with the times into a genre most befitting its subjects. This era-spanning oral history gives context to its story of musicians with a mission as it chronicles early days of hip hop in the 1970s through the eyes of Atlanta’s first rapper Mojo, the election of Maynard Jackson as the first Black mayor of the Southeastern city, the pall of the Atlanta Child Murders and the celebration following the apprehension of a perpetrator, the gentrification of events such as the Olympics and, most recently, protest movements in the light of a nation’s racial reckoning. Directors Ryan and Tyson Horne wisely structure and set their scene to authentically ground the family tree of music movements emerging from an unlikely place, including chart-topping earworms unleashed by eager and creative self-made mega-producers, music that emerged from unlikely places such as the projects and “dank dungeons” and pristine churches, plus crunk and trap soundscapes and innovations still evolving today. The movie’s title comes from the mic-drop moment at the 1995 Source Awards, as East and West coast factions feuding was the simmering cycle of the day, when Outkast member Andre 3000 proclaimed his part of the country the epicenter of the music movement, and his city’s creatives haven’t taken their feet off the pedal since, en route to global cultural dominance. The filmmakers blend anecdotes from artists who are lesser-known or potentially forgotten to time with some of the most renowned headliners on earth to spotlight the inspirations for their emerging sounds and how adjacent fashion, dance, lifestyle and self-expression trends all reflect deep roots in community. Speech, T.I., Dallas Austin, Princess, Killer Mike, CeeLo Green and the late Rico Wade are among the fascinating storytellers, showcasing history in interviews, archival footage, music videos, home movies and of course the enduring songs themselves. From afternoons gliding through nostalgia of skating rinks to peering at campus life at HBCUs to trialing new tracks at Magic City, plus life at concerts and cookouts, the movie expresses joy and its subjects’ will to be seen and heard. The devil comes down to Georgia in all the film’s rich details, from graphic identifiers reminiscent of old cassette tapes to a climactic event in downtown Atlanta depicted with immediacy from multiple points of view. Neither overly bossy nor glossy in its hot takes, the filmmakers stuff ample history into the movie’s shaking bounty. Shedding light and insight to creativity in constant motion, this definitive documentary is highly recommended.
Like Sweeney Todd and his glistening knives or Tom Brady and his spiraling football, famed ventriloquist Shari Lewis was wielding something mighty at the end of her arm. Lisa D’Apolito’s feel-good documentary Shari and Lamb Chop (B+) chronicles the multi-hyphenate singer, dancer, comedienne, educator and puppeteer through a veritable variety show of every major era of television as she showcases astounding work ethic and a charm offensive. The daughter of a vaudeville magician, a young Shari aspires to sing and dance and becomes famous for a sassy sock puppet that no late night talk show or game show host will ever let her forget to bring along. Through intimate found footage including some remarkable on-set sequences from multiple iterations of Shari’s various children’s shows, D’Apolito finds an array of heightened emotions in her subject. Surprising tidbits include both puppet and ventriloquist doing a full show in Japanese as well as Lewis co-writing a Star Trek episode. The film is vibrant and colorful with a wistful nostalgia for an old-fashioned brand of good-natured humor. Through Shari’s myriad talents on display and interviews by the likes of illusionist David Copperfield, SNL’s Sarah Sherman and surviving Lewis family members, it’s a lovely tribute. With so much at arm’s length, this film will make you want to hug someone you love.
Note: This was the closing night film of the 2024 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival with streaming films continuing through March 7. A full line-up of streaming films can be found here: https://ajff.org
Fire up the typewriter sound effects and the catchy Oscar-nominated song, because there’s still something to sing about! In the year since the release of a Barbie movie was celebrated for giving voice to the plight of women but derided by detractors for being pedantic, it’s clear we are witnessing history repeating. Camille Hardman and Gary Lane’s compelling documentary Still Working 9 to 5 (B+) explores the past decades of the women’s rights movement with the 1980 film comedy 9 to 5 as a pop cultural touchstone. The co-directors congregate the film’s funny trio Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton for fond reminiscences as the popular movie made them unofficial spokeswomen of an equal rights movement picking up steam. Interlaced in the documentary are participants in pop culture with workplace pioneers such as Lilly Ledbetter, each sharing their personal anecdotes across the continuum. The movie also does an elegant job linking the early exposure of topics such as fair pay and sexual harassment with later movements such as #MeToo. Fans of the classic workplace satire will find themselves enjoying the behind the scenes footage and back stories while learning important lessons of modern American history too. Hardman and Lane deliver a touching and timely look at vital issues affecting us all. They tell their story with nifty nostalgia and utmost urgency, and now the film is available on major streaming platforms for more to enjoy.
One of the great comic actors of film is immortalized with a warm tribute in Ron Frank’s documentary Remembering Gene Wilder (B), chock-full of clips, interviews, behind the scenes footage and the title subject’s own narration from the audiobook of his 2005 memoir. Mel Brooks is always an enjoyable interview, and he doesn’t disappoint here with his sentimental observations. The best parts of the film involve recollections of work on Brooks films The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein plus Willy Wonka and his series of pairings with Richard Pryor. The late stages of Wilder’s life are marred by tragedy, which is covered gracefully. The film is a solid if uninspired largely chronological telling of Wilder’s life without too many surprises. Unlike many of the actor’s most memorable manic performances, the film could have been just a little wilder.
Note: This screening was part of the 2024 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. The festival’s theatrical movies run through February 26 with streaming films also available through March 7. Full line-up of offerings can be found here: https://ajff.org
A surprising film debuted at Sundance 2024, and you could say it’s got buzz. And whistles, beeps and chirps. Sally Aitken’s documentary Every Little Thing (B) is a gentle, non-ironic glimpse at the life’s work of a West coast woman named Terry Masear, who operates a hummingbird rescue mission out of her L.A. home. This consummate and patient healer’s own wounded background undergirds the true tale, but the recovering birds are really center cage in this realm, each with cute names and back stories as they begin their fragile resurgence. Aitken gently follows some amazing animals in startling close-up as they learn their flights of fancy again. Like March of the Penguins, it’s a canny diorama exploring the sociological machinations of a bird order. This engaging journey is quietly observant, inspiring and entertaining.
This is the story about how one creative community rebounded from the biggest existential threat to its way of life: the chronicle of how Broadway survived 551 dark days benched by COVID-19. Capturing the full ecosystem from producers and performers to the folks who launder the costumes and staff the venues, Amy Rice’s documentary Broadway Rising (B) is a tribute to resilience and a stirring summons to the best in all of us. Rice cleverly accesses multiple theatre community personalities and perspectives to trace the time period between the shutdown and reopening. Some people passed away, some cope in unexpected ways and others still found a whole new way to give back to their adopted stage families and others in need. Interviews with actors and artisans such as Patti LuPone and Lynn Nottage help knit the tale from a true behind the scenes vantage point, with performers from popular shows such as Wicked, Waitress, Hamilton and Hadestown drawing in a populist POV . Rice deftly weaves vital issues of social justice and inclusion into the piece and finds apt intersections to propel her central storyline. The idiom dictionary for the phrase, “the show must go on” would undoubtedly point directly to this film.