"Laura Pausini: Pleasure To Meet You" (2022 release from Italy; 90 min.) is a documentary about Italy's Celine Dion. As the movie opens, we are with Laura and her family as they are watching the Golden Globes awards live in February '21. When Laura is announced as the winner for Best Original Song, the entire extended family explodes with joy and tears. We then go back to "Fall 1992" as Laura, then 17, talks about growing up in Solarolo, performing in bars alongside her dad, and how she is invited to participate in the Sanremo song festival... At this point we are 10 min into the movie.
Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I had never head of Laura Pausini beforehand. I literally took a chance upon a "suggested" viewing by Amazon Prime based on my viewing habits (I love music, and I love documentaries). It turns out that Laura Pausini is Italy's response to Celin Dion, except that Pausini pretty much stays to her Italian roots, and amazingly becomes a superstar in much of Europe. It's all fine and well, except that I absolutely don't care for this kind of bland music-for-the-masses. As to Laura's personal story, I'm sure it's inspiring for some but it really couldn't hold my interest for very long. Bottom line: the AI that "suggested" this movie for me was absolutely 100% wrong. I gave it a generous 45 min (half the movie) but then simply had to bail, sorry.
"Laura Pausini: Pleasure To Meet You" recently premiered on Amazon Prime, and seems intended as an introduction to Pausini to a larger audience beyond her already existing fan base. Maybe it will do exactly that. I can only speak for myself, and I wasn't in the least interested in this film or in Laura Pausini. If you like Celin Dion's music, then I might suggest you give this a shot, and draw your own conclusion. For the rest of us, please stay away from this documentary.
