Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields is incredibly impressive with her down to earth honesty in reviewing her life highlights. The documentary is concise for the most part, and while the viewer might want more focus on specific areas, it's enough to convey her often alarming story of unaware exploitation. While there has been personal and media manipulation, the history of female sexual sensationalism is spotlighted. Though she will not think of herself as a victim, what's pointed out repetitively is times have changed, and what the industry did then is not socially acceptable now. What makes this documentary great is her brave perspective and intelligent insight. Hopefully others can learn from her or more about her, if they choose to do so.

This is a wonderful, interesting, and informative documentary about beautiful Brooke Shields. Gorgeous from birth, joined at the hip with an alcoholic mother, sexualized at an early age, in the public eye from childhood- she somehow has turned out to be a well adjusted wife, mother, and performer. None of it was easy.

The story of her horrific post-partum depression is heartbreaking. Her story of Zefferelli twisting her toe trying to get a look of ecstasy on her face is hilarious.

What saved her, I think, was truly not being sexualized in her private life, her intelligence, attending Princeton, and her humor. (Trying to find work in show biz after college - "Um, is that Brook with or without an E?")

Enlightening and inspiring, Shields is the true adult daughter of an alcoholic who, frankly, could be a big mess today.

Brooke Shields was a stranger in her own life...a life she lived for her mother, then subsequently for Agassi. It's clear her mother peddled her in ways that are objectionable and damaging to a young woman's core self. This explains why I have always seen an nearly imperceptible look of panic in Shields' eyes. Look, you will see it. This documentary is eye opening as it exposes the way Brooke was offered up as a youth sex symbol by uncaring and greedy movie producers who birthed the 70's era of child sex symbols in film--something we are smart enough to reject today. But this bought fame and fortune to young Brooke while the price she paid was personality dissociation. She separated her instinct and feelings from her big celebrity ambitions--it was survival. Somehow, I'm not completely buying the victimization of her narrative, particularly when she defends her role in Pretty Baby to her daughters. Give it up, Brooke. Your mother made you do things that you would never ask your daughters to do.

The industry devours the willing for a pot of gold, even when that will is fabricated. The good part is that Shields has survived her wounds and has self-actualized. That's always a good ending.

Pretty Baby, the documentary about one of the 20th's century's most iconic faces, proves her beauty runs deep. In the late seventies, we were bombarded with her image of flawless beauty but as she matured we got to see something deeper about her humanity which is well captured in this film. Despite some situations which would have been legally prosecuted today, Brooke seems to accept it all as part of what makes her today. Had no idea who messed up her mother relationship was. It is a miracle she came out sane. Her path to self-discovery is something all young people can understand, but she was able to take the public's glaring and critical eye and say "That's all fine, but this is me." I saw her in a stage show of The Exorcist years ago and said "She really nailed it." It was quite an intense role and she owned it. I've always liked her and now I know better why.

I am about 10 years older than Brooke and I remember her early movies and ads for Calvin Klein. I never saw Pretty Baby, Blue Lagoon or the Zeffirelli movie. I was creeped out by the kiddie-porn aspect back then and her mom-manager. I want to say as much as everyone hammered her mother's bad choices, her father's total emotional absence is given a pass by the world. I had respect for her when she went to Princeton and always seemed to handle herself well as an adult. I really enjoyed her clap back at Tom Cruise - as he spewed his cult nonsense. I really appreciated the first two episodes and will definitely see the rest of the series. She survived and kept herself together and that is an enormous accomplishment. The flow of the documentary is great. It addresses the systemic misogyny in our country with color and light which will allow us to look directly at it and give us the words to express it.