Love to Love You, Donna Summer

This purports to be the story of Donna Summer, but it is, sadly, just a mishmash of moments, thrown together.

The voiceovers are done by Donna Summer's husband, her children and a few others. I wish it had been an actual "story," but instead it simply flows aimlessly, with no real structure to it. I kept hoping for the documentary to congeal into an objective narrative, delving into the highs and lows of her life, but it never happened.

For those who are too young to have known Donna Summer, this might be entertaining, but for others, it will be bewildering, as, at almost no point is Donna Summer ever really contributing what was actually happening, and of course, since it was made after her death, that is reasonable. However, any filmmaker knows that a story must be told, and here, it just misses the mark, no matter how well-intentioned it is. I recognize though, that her daughter felt the need to make this. I just wish it shed light on the "real" Donna Summer.

A wandering documentary, not developed enough to be seen as any kind of coherent biography that could give a thoughtful person real insight into the life of Donna Summer.

With a subject as rich as Donna Summer, especially in her peak recording years, it's somewhat disappointing to find that this 2023 documentary worked most effectively as a daughter's valentine to her mother rather than a penetrating chronicle of her career. No surprise since her daughter Brooklyn Sudano co-directed this film with Roger Ross Williams, and the result is rich with archival footage and home movies. The daughter's perspective is valuable but not really that objective. What the film lacks at its core is a deeper understanding of the professional choices Summer made to shape and redefine her varied career from disco sex goddess to impressively versatile performer. That was the level of insight I was hoping for in this documentary.

I've been looking forward to seeing this since I first saw the trailer a month ago, and in almost all ways it met my expectations. Donna Summer was the first artist whose music I loved not only because it appealed to me, but because I was intrigued by the person. I started really getting into music at the same time disco and Donna hit it big in 1977-78, she was seemingly always on the radio, and for the next few years I devoured every album she released.

Love to Love You, Donna Summer is a pretty standard (not a bad thing at all) music documentary that definitely benefits from the co-director (Brooklyn Sudano, Donna's daughter)'s trove of home movies, album demos, and photos that really enable the viewer to see the many different sides of Donna. Interviews with her other two daughters and husband, in addition to some of Donna's partners musically and personally, offer additional insight into her too-short life.

The only thing I felt missing was a bit more of an in depth look at her music through the 80's and into the 21st century, but that's just the opinion of the music nerd in me. Ultimately, the doc is a long overdue examination (and love letter of sorts) of an incredibly influential, talented and popular musical force of nature.

My mother was a huge Donna Summer fan, she had all her albums and listened to them all the time. As a kid I was entranced by Donna's album covers-they were huge pictures of her and Mimi dressed in beautiful sequined gowns. Mimi and I are one year apart in age and I thought she was the luckiest girl alive to be able to be living such a glamorous life and wearing such beautiful dresses like a princess.

When I heard this documentary was coming out, I was cautiously optimistic simply for the fact that I am wary of the children of celebrities to tell the truth about their parent. Particularly the life they lived before they had children. For some reason, children are often seen as the ultimate biographical sources for their parents but I don't agree. Partly because as children we only ever know a small part of our parents story and only the part they tell us or the part we see with our own eyes. Donna Summer was approx.25 years old when her first child Mimi was born yet her participation was minimal-she spent the most time with her Mom as Donna was well over 30 years old when Brooklyn was born. How would she know, for sure, what her mom was or wasn't doing before she was alive? You can go by what your parent tells you, but parents don't always tell their kids the truth. This is mentioned in the doc that as children they were not allowed in their Mom's bedroom and their Mom was somewhat aloof about her private life. My personal view is that the children of celebrities more than anyone else, want to preserve a particular view or image of their parent. A good example of this is the Natalie Wood documentary that was done by her daughter.

The documentary seemed rushed maybe there were budgetary constraints that would explain why A LOT of details were omitted. Her participation in the production of HAIR which was quite controversial for the time-her life in Germany which was allegedly a difficult time for her due to bad relationships and possibly substance abuse. Her life post-disco and her brief early 80's come back with She works hard for the money and her popularity in the UK which eclipsed her popularity in the US post-disco. I could go on and on... Lastly, on the topic of Donna's views on the gay community. For the filmmakers to allege that she didn't mean what she said, and that Donna had gay friends and liked gay people is disingenuous. The internet keeps receipts in perpetuity, and it is quite clear what her views were. Her views were in keeping with the times! Who is to say that those views would not evolve over time?

As "Love to Love You, Donna Summer" (2023 release; 107 min) opens, Donna Summer performs that breakthrough song (some might say, her signature song), as she dances along. We then hear from Donna herself: "I have a secret life: what you see is not who I am". We then go back in time, as young (8 yo) Donna is asked to sing gospel songs at church. At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this documentary is co-directed by Brooklyn Sudano (Donna's daughter) and Oscar-winning (for "Music by Prudence") Roger Ross Williams. The result is a carefully crafted assessment of Donna Summer the musician and the person. The film makers do not step aside to address avoid some touchy issues. The lovie includes never-before-seen home footage (it helps that Donna, a wanna-be film maker, has a camera with her on those long tours). When asked what she thinks about being called the "Queen of Disco", Donna responds "but that is not all of who I am". This documentary makes that very clear.

"Love to Love You, Donna Summer" premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in early 2023, to immediate positive acclaim. The movie is currently rated 83% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. For whatever reason I had missed this documentary, until Max (where this is now streaming) suggested it to me based on my viewing habits. If you are a fan of Donna Summer or of the disco era, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.