Katy Perry: Part of Me

IF you're a fan of US singer Katy Perry, you'll love this

autobiographical concert movie of her songs and life.

If you don't know anything about her, you'll still enjoy the movie as it follows the structure of these kind of movies: it has many concert performances and interviews with her family, friends and fans about what a great singer and person she is.

The movie follows her on a year-long tour last year to promote her album, which produced five No. 1 hits, the first for a female artiste.

The movie would have been a normal one but for the way it milks her divorce from British comedian Russell Brand for all it's worth. Brand filed for divorce in December 2011 after 14 months of marriage.

It shows what led to the divorce (him wanting to have a baby; she not being interested in becoming a mum now) and then her finally accepting the divorce, complete with a breakdown, just before the start of her concert in Sao Paolo, Brazil. She even contemplates cancelling the concert.

This will certainly brings tears to many, as it did to me.

I enjoyed her concert shows as they were vibrant, energetic and colourful. "Thank you for accepting my weirdness," she tells the camera and her fans.

Her niceness permeates the movie, and you can see why her mostly white fans adore her, dress like her, mime her lyrics and say how much she inspires them and gives them hope.

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I went to this film last night with my friend who is a massive Katy Perry fan. As expected, we were practically the oldest patrons in the cinema, so the younger demographic surrounding us were of much entertainment as was the film.

My friend and I both went to her concert last year so it was a good insight into the 'behind the scenes' of the many hours of hard labor that went into this fantastic two hour show. I was sort of hoping for a bit more info into her personal life but I suppose there is only so much content that can be shown in a 90 minute segment.

Overall I enjoyed Perry's documentary and her sheer dedication she commits to her ever prospering career. She, as a person, is absolutely stunning and always a pleasure to watch!

There are some very miserable spiteful reviews on here. They usually contain such revelations as 'I don't like Katy Perry's music and hated this movie'. Er... what are you doing watching a film about Katy Perry if you don't like Katy Perry's music. I know, you came to be bored and to dislike it and you succeeded. The film contains a very revealing and surprising story about a genuinely gifted songwriter breaking out of her strict religious upbringing and rising to the very highest peak that anybody could possibly wish for. She did it through shear determination and spirit. She did not get it handed to her. She was in fact jerked around by all the record companies and almost sunk until, in one memorable quote, one of the young female execs stole her music from the company and 'snuck out' with it, so that she would be free to find success at another label which had people of some imagination and vision instead of the lame egotistical dicks that she was tied to at that time. Her message is absolutely positive, absolutely empowering and liberating for young girls, and the concert footage shows just how transcendent that message becomes for them at the live shows. She is not sleazy or nasty or stupid. If I had a daughter I would strongly approve of her being a 'Katy cat'. I enjoyed every minute of this documentary. Those who hated it are most likely sad old men or jealous bitches. I reckon.

When I say I'm a non Katy fan, I don't mean I dislike her. I just mean I've only heard her on the radio. Which, if you live in the free world, is basically every time you turn the radio on.

I started watching this movie expecting it to be your standard mega-produced, glamorous, glitzy promotion like most insanely successful pop stars put out. It sort of began that way, with spectacular concert footage cutting to clips of screaming kids singing along in the street, a few airplanes, exotic locations, makeup room shots of the star, blah blah blah, it's really a canned formula. But pretty soon the tone shifted dramatically and took us right to her humble origins. That's when things started getting interesting because the film becomes less about the "celebrity du jour" but instead it becomes a unique story of how a normal person became the "celebrity du jour". So I decided to watch a little longer.

I won't go into her life details which everyone but me probably knew already, but she really is the quintessential rebel, a preacher's daughter who began singing Christian songs in her teens, but then left her conservative home for L.A. and, well, started writing songs like "I Kissed a Girl". It could've been fun if the filmmakers had played up the drama & controversy of this break from her puritanical upbringing, but they decided not to go there. The movie remains wholesome and family friendly throughout. Aww, bummer, I thought and again played with the idea of changing the channel to reruns of "The Headbanger's Ball".

But then... ah yes, here's where the real fun begins. Although I see other reviewers have complained about this movie milking her shaky marriage to comedian Russell Brand, I thought that angle is precisely what made it a great documentary. Not because I was drooling over the saucy details of celebrity love lives, but because this theme is excellently woven into to the age old motto of the performing artist since the first stage was built: "The show must go on".

And that, mixed with electrifying performances, some bits of humor and of course screaming teens, is how "Part of Me" becomes a great experience, especially for those of us (performers or not) who have ever had to suppress our own misery and hardship for the sake of "the show". The film pulls no punches. It shows Katy at her best and her worst on this 300+ day tour that ended up rocketing her career while practically destroying her personal life.

I highly recommend this film to performing & touring musicians of all genres. I also recommend this to anyone who is struggling to balance a career with a family life. My only disappointment is that it didn't feature as much behind-the-scenes music (rehearsals, jams, etc), instead focusing more on stage production & dance choreography. It's all impressive, but I would've loved to see the guitarist practicing his solos, or Katy singing alongside a piano. Instead all the music is from the show, produced and polished without any blemishes that make rehearsals fun to watch.

My favorite tour video of ALL TIME is called "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" which is an unintentionally hilarious look at a metal band's comeback attempt. That's the raw stuff I like to see. "Katy Perry Part of Me" is on polished side, but it still delivers a very human story with a lot of value. So, yes, I recommend this movie. It didn't make me fall asleep. In fact you could say "I'm wide awake" (boo hisss)

Yeah, I actually took the time to watch this. It's exactly what you would expect. It's simply another touring concert movie to cash in on the success of a modern icon, but at least we do get to see why people look up to Katy Perry in such a way. Is it her music? Okay, but lots of artists have good music. Is it her fashion? I don't think that's it either. I think people look up to Perry because her personality is just so likable, and she's faced relatable issues and real life problems, all of that leading to where she is now. Maybe the movie makes her a little too likable, but you can see exactly why she's considered such a role model, and any fan of her music (guilty) will enjoy hearing the live performances of her songs.

*** / *****