Okay, so to be clear from the outset, I am not someone overly familiar with the career of Wendy Williams nor know her story outside of her show and I've only seen a few clips of that because my better half is a huge fan.
So I am coming at this from a place of impartiality and really new nothing about this woman, I didn't even know she had fainted once on a show. Now I am always interested in a good biopic, especially a raw and honest one. I'm also aware of some of the other work of some of the cast, so I was curious to see how they did with their roles, so needless to say, my interest was piqued.
You probably don't need me to outline the story, but I do a short synopsis in every review I do, so I won't break that habit now.
After a short opening set in the present we flashback to the childhood of Ms Williams, where it would appear she was brought up in fairly middle class surroundings but had a Mother (played by Lisa Huget - excellent, give her more work please!) who didn't quite know where to direct all her daughters energy and an envious older sister, of whom we find out very little. (But this is Wendy's story, so that's okay) A few conflicts aside she appears to have come from a fairly loving and stable home compared to many. Adult Wendy's interest in the 80s music scene soon leads to her pursuing a career at a radio station, then as a DJ, then as a controversial talk show host. Soon she's dishing dirt on the careers of music impresarios left and right and making as many enemies as friends. She also develops a bad habit for two things which would remain fairly consistent through her life. Cocaine and Bad Boys, both of which would cause her various states of distress at different times. She's raped by a star after doing drugs in his hotel suite and ends up in relationships which ultimately become abusive and controlling. Her longterm boyfriend Kevin Hunter (Played with superb nuance by Morocco Omari who some will know from the show Empire) ultimately ends up becoming her greatest adversary and her break from him, her ultimate victory. The film charts the various highs and lows and doesn't pull any punches about Wendy's flaws of which she has many, culminating from a word from the actual lady herself.
Okay. So did I find this engaging, as someone with little interest in the subject matter? Absolutely. But the primary reason for this was because of the performance of the lead CIERA PEYTON, she was absolutely outstanding. For any actor a role like this is not only a poisoned chalice but extremely challenging, if you imitate a person too closely and you risk effectively just doing an impersonation (How many times have we seen someone do a bad Borat?) but stretch too far from the persona of the subject and you risk losing their essence and thus credibility. Ms Peyton pitched her performance perfectly, not only did she capture the energy of Wendy, but you felt at all times like you were watching the real person and that is no small achievement. She made the show eminently watchable. Wardrobe and hair, first rate job too, she looked and sounded every bit the part.
So why are people being hard on this movie? I think this is why - The story of Wendy's life is told in super fast rollercoaster fashion in a film which really felt like it should have been a two parter and it does so with LOTS AND I MEAN LOTS, OF VOICEOVER!!! (Thankfully with the voice of the actress playing Wendy, more on her in a moment) overuse of this technique was off putting and unfortunately this was the shows biggest flaw. I mean we really don't need a voiceover explaining what the AIDS crisis was, when we've seen Wendy reading a pamphlet on the subject and is in a clinic with a massive aids poster on the wall. You really don't need to spell out every scene for us in this way - give your audience and your lead actor credit. We can follow the story and the constant voice over was often unnecessary and at times very distracting and reduced the impact of emotional scenes. We kept being told about things we had just seen or were about to see - just let us see the drama play on screen. I get it, there was loads to include and the writing had a sense of panic about it. 'I must comment on this...' but the drama was all there. I'd actually love to watch the film again with no voice over at all and just a few titles to show change of time and place and really let the performance of Ms Peyton breathe because she really does deserve all the credit she gets for her performance.
It's hard to watch this and not feel empathy for Wendy's story, by the end of it I honestly just wanted to hug the woman and tell she is loved by many and that this in any life, of itself, is no small achievement. She's someone who has obviously endured a great deal and I suspect this movie will be a cathartic experience for her and I sincerely hope it gives her a greater sense of peace and closure on those doors from her past which really do need to stay shut. I can't say how one sided this version is and obviously it cannot be without some bias, but its too the films credit that Wendy's ex, Kevin, though portrayed as flawed, was also shown to have a deeply caring side and was more complex in his failings than most portrayals of this type in similar films and again, that is also down to the acting. Because the film did not fall into that trap, that is another reason why I had to give it credit. Without that and Ms Peytons performance it would have got a 5 due to the issues I have mentioned but its strengths go a long way to redeeming these. If you're a Wendy fan, she's putting it all out there on line for you to see, and no doubt you will enjoy a greater insight into her journey which has been anything but boring. In the same context, neither was the movie and I sincerely wish her well. If you're not a fan, its still worth seeing for some damn good acting from the lead. I've been generous with my rating but the stars were definitely earned.
