Martha Stewart, une icône américaine

Somehow I don't find it surprising that Martha Stewart complained publicly to no less than the New York Times about the final cut of the 2024 documentary about her life even though she fully cooperated with longtime documentarian R. J. Cutler on the production. After all, she is a legendary perfectionist who changed the fabric of American lifestyle culture and became the country's first self-made female billionaire. She was appalled that a big chunk of the film was devoted to her conviction and 150-day imprisonment two decades ago (including a day in solitary confinement for what seemed to be a minor infraction), yet this section (replete with illustrations) was the most compelling part of her story. Cutler does a masterful job covering her life, triggering Stewart to discuss aspects of her childhood, marriage, relationships, and business dealings that reveal the price she has paid for her perfectionism. Her life since prison has been an intriguing example of reinvention with unexpected notoriety that has proven fortuitous to her enduring brand. She is truly brilliant but with that detached sense of entitlement that still limits how much of her story she is willing to share even now. This documentary provides clear evidence what a fascinating life Stewart has led due in no small part to her unflinching tenacity and almost telepathic sense of what her audience wants.

Love Martha Stewart all over again after watching this! Learned a lot about her that wasn't commonly know and was reminded of what a trailblazer she is. All she was able to accomplish is truly remarkable. Her life hasn't been quite as easy as it appeared watching and reading her all these years. The only thing I would change, rather than just voiceovers, would have been to show a few of the people interviewed (her daughter and siblings especially). This documentary left me wanting to watch and learn more about Martha. I wish it had been a limited series. Love her style, intellect, and wit. She is as great now as she ever was!

She was the riches woman in America and first billionaire women, what an amazing achievement and living the American dream a pioneer influencer.

It was a real interesting on the one hand is a perfect woman who was like a Disney princess, a real-life Mary popping or Cinderella, she brought joy in to the world by showing people how to improve their life's. Long before the internet took off.

I was amazed how much energy she had, she influenced people including men, as much as women. Building a brand and understanding what people want and creating the future.

In a man's world this documentary showed how she pitched ideas to the most powerful men and got rejected. She stuck to her guns and got her ideas out, finding someone to help her publish her magazines.

This documentary tells her story of her father being a salesman and strict upbringing.

Her family about to fall apart and Luckly she manages to get modelling job and meets a young rich man who wants to marry her and she agrees, to reverse her family's bad fortune.

Then her own father tries to stop her marriage and yet she still marries a rich man and his connections allow her to meet people that change her life forever.

How much was chance and fate and how much was her drive leading her.

A successful marriage ended with infidelity and as this documentary is her story, she tells you he cheated first. Then says how she created an opportunity for her husband to cheat and regrets that now and talks about how she cheated on him and loved him.

She starting over again, just charms everyone makes a lot of money and Her connections before she knows she is in a relationship with a billionaire and is a billionaire herself. Her rag to riches story complete.

Then the downfall It seems odd that America would treat a person like this, let alone a woman a role model. Then they put her in jail and treat her like an animal. It is what you expect in Afghanistan or some dictatorship.

What was her crime, legally buying share and then her friend who owns the company, he broke the law told her to sell.

It was a mistake to sell those stocks, yet this has happened and most people don't go to jail. Her biggest error not having someone, who did the deed, she was caught. Power fall people lost money and someone has to pay and F. B. I investigated people involved.

I guess the fact she had bad legal advice and denied it made her look more guilty and this was a crime.

The strangest thing happened, as she was losing her power, people she trusted brought her down. If they lied or not is irrelevant now, the fact she was found guilty. This enabled people to take over her business and black list her running a company, she lost her circle of friends.

Bad person?

Then there is her attitude should she have just been nicer to people or is it a sign or weakness in business and her controlling attitude is what enabled her to create an empire.

It seems to come from her father's controlling and upbringing.

Like they say a leopard never changes its spots, yet she has managed to shed her old skin and is rebranded and keeps going.

In a way you could have seen her, as next president of U. S. A or back in jail for another crime.

She has the minus touch and seems to have achieved far beyond the cards she was delt at birth.

Down side to this documentary is that it is only her story.

I enjoyed this documentary for showing her story, but it does seem one sided and controlled and her ex-husbands and friends don't tell their side.

I really enjoyed the documentary. For someone who knows of Martha, and didn't get her or what the big deal was about her, I now get it. When you put it like that, into one whole life review I get it. She's incredibly inspirational especially to women thinking of starting a business in a world that let's face it is still a man's world. So I found her life incredibly inspiring. I gave only 8 stars because I would have liked to see and know more about the early stages of writing a cook book, building the business and really getting into the detail of how she fitted so much into her day. Her life seems a little bit handed to her because of the people she was surrounded with. Is that why possibly we didn't go more in detail? I do see this being a series on streaming. I think find the right Martha and let's get into her life from young, to teen, modeling, marriage, family divorce, all the while building her empire from recipes, to magazine, TV, the deals, the hurts, successes, the affairs, the jail time. I think it could be a really binge watching series. But let Martha pick her actress!

Ah, Martha, thanks, yet again, for complaining. This accurate, engaging documentary about a driven woman and her primarily pointless activities, her ability to monetize supposed perfection and finally, her nearly sociopathic personality is worth watching, if for no other reason than to familiarize yourself with a life most wouldn't want to live. Clearly, her childhood left its mark on her, unfortunately, not the right ones. Her ability to exaggerate and make the world rotate around her is clearly evident; her claim to be a "pioneer" in Westport is the best example. By the time she moved there, many of us (I am a Westporter) had been or were still living there for 20 years or more, and the town had been and was already home to people with more talent than she ever had. That she is a liar is why she landed in jail. Dismissing her infidelity as insignificant and the sadness so evident in her daughter booth stand as evidence of her true character. The arrogance to believe she can control either the film's content, much less how she appears, without having gotten that in the contract demonstrates that perhaps she isn't as smart as some might believe. True, she was a successful business woman in a male dominated world, I'll give her that....and she can have it.