Not Just a Girl

I really liked this documentary. I am not a huge fan of Shania, I like most of her music and having time to kill I decided to give it a go. After watching Not Just A Girl, I have a lot more respect for her given all that life has thrown her way and how she managed to overcome it. You go Shania!!!

I'm not a die hard fan but have enjoyed her music from time to time. She seems so cool and down to earth and, wow, what an amazing journey she's had, incredible, much respect to her.

I really enjoyed it from start to finish as she really has had an amazing career and it was quite fun taking a glimpse into that.

As "Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl" (2022 release; 88 min) opens, various talking heads are heaping praise on Twain. "She was a trailblazer across musical styles", comments one (correctly). We then go back in time to "Timmins, Ontario" where Shania grew up and at a young age (just 8) started performing in bars... At this point we are 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this bio-documentary is directed by Joss Crowley, who has done a number of other music documentaries (involving Elvis Costello, Hall & Oates, and others). Here he looks back at the amazing rise of Shania Twain, who out of nowhere (and after a failed 1993 debut album) then released 3 albums in a row that each went diamond (more than 10 million copies sold): The Woman In Me (1995), Come On Over (1997) and Up! (2002), and then pretty much disappeared into thin air for the next decade plus. This documentary is completely straight forward and strictly by the numbers. Twain's musical and personal partnership with Mutt Lange, coincidentally or not starting with The Woman In Me, is of course mentioned but otherwise not reviewed in depth or otherwise questioned (Lange was 17 years her senior). Also not clear is why exactly Twain decided to move to Nashville in the early 90s. Bottom line: this bio-documentary is entirely free from any controversy, and as it happens also (or perhaps more accurately, hence) lacks much new insight as to the phenom that Shania Twain was. I saw Twain in concert just once, when she came to Cincinnati on her Up! Tour in 2004. The arena was sold out, and she put on a thoroughly professional "well oiled machine" performance.

"Shania Twain: Not Just A Girl" recently premiered on Netflix, and I just watched it the other night. If you are a fan of Shania Twain, be it a die-hard or, like me, just a casual fan, I'd readily suggest you check out this documentary, albeit with expectations in check, and draw your own conclusion.

Joss Crowley's 'Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl' is a well-made and enjoyable music documentary that digs into the career of one of country music's towering figures. The film doesn't provide any new information for those already familiar with Twain's life and work, though some of the interviewees are insightful.

All I knew of Shania Twain was that when I was a hormonal teen she looked amazing and she teased me with that You Don't Impress Me Much song. I liked her songs, but I would never have considered myself a fan. This documentary starts from her humble beginnings, goes through her explosive years, approaches the great trauma that she experienced immediately after and comes out at the same time as a compilation album from 2022 containing a new track as well.

Is she making a comeback? I don't know. It certainly feels too late, but then again, you never know.

This was a very informative film, although not one that made me feel closer to the person. It was heartbreaking to hear about how Lyme disease derailed her entire life, but after watching the documentary I don't feel I understand Shania more, only that I know a lot more about her. Other than that, it was a good documentary.

I hated the talking heads who were trying to slap their political agenda on Twain's career, even after she herself said she only wanted to express her personality, not enter in some political piss contest. Personally I admire her steadfastness and I do feel like she is a decent human being. She was a true feminist before it was fashionable, and did it leading by example, not by pushing talking points in unrelated conversations. Unfortunately, that's exactly how those few minutes of slap-on social agenda bits feel, completely out of place and annoying as hell.

Bottom line: ignore the talking heads and focus on the story and you will get to admire Shania Twain more.