Dawn Porter Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Luther: Never Too Much,’ starring Fonzi Thornton, Robin Clark, Carlos Alomar, Clive Davis, Jamie Foxx, Mariah Carey and Richard Marx

November 27, 2024

by Carla Hay

A 1980s archival photo of Luther Vandross in “Luther: Never Too Much” (Photo by Don Hunstein/Sony Music/Giant Pictures)

Directed by Dawn Porter

Culture Representation: The documentary film “Luther: Never Too Much” features a predominantly African American group of people (with a few Latin and white people) discussing the life and career of R&B singer/songwriter/producer Luther Vandross, who died from stroke complications in 2005, at the age of 54.

Culture Clash: Vandross had public and private battles over racism, his weight and his sexuality.

Culture Audience: “Luther: Never Too Much” will appeal primarily to his fans and people who are interested in documentaries about famous singers.

Conventionally made but still enjoyable, the documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” tells a very laudatory version of Luther Vandross’ life. More insight was needed for what he liked to do when he wasn’t working, but it’s an overall competent biography. The movie is an expected mix of archival footage with exclusive interviews filmed for the documentary. The interviewees are mostly Vandross’ friends and colleagues.

Directed by Dawn Porter, “Luther: Never Too Much” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2024, including Hot Docs and the Tribeca Festival. The movie focuses almost entirely on Vandross’ career and has the bare minimum of information about who he was apart from being an entertainer. “Luther: Never Too Much” has an impressive group of interviewees, but die-hard Vandross fans will not learn anything new about him from this documentary, except maybe seeing some rare archival footage.

Vandross was born in New York City on April 20, 1951. He was the fourth and youngest child of Luther Vandross Sr. (who was an upholsterer and singer) and Mary Ida Vandross, who was a nurse. Luther Sr. died of diabetes when Luther Jr. was 8 years old. According to the documentary, Mary Vandross believed that Luther Jr. inherited his father’s musical talent.

And like his father, Luther Jr. had diabetes, which caused Luther Jr. to have health issues for his entire life. Luther Jr. was a child prodigy in music and knew from an early age that he wanted to be a singer. He learned to play the piano by ear at the age of 3. As he grew older, he became a prolific songwriter, but he wasn’t able to fully showcase his songwriting talent until he became a solo artist.

“Luther: Never Too Much” skips over most of Vandross’ childhood. Don’t expect the documentary to reveal what types of relationships he had with his siblings or what he was like in school. Instead, there is brief archival interview clips of Vandross saying that he had a happy childhood where he never felt deprived, and he felt safe and loved.

His singer idols when he was a child were Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. As a famous artist, he produced two albums for Franklin: 1982’s “Jump to It” and 1983’s “Get It Right.” Vandross produced Warwick’s 1983 album “How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.” Vandross also did backup vocals for Ross and was a guest performer at two concerts (one in New York City, one in Philadelphia) that Ross did in 2000. Vandross said in many interviews that the music and culture of Motown Records had a huge influence on him as a child.

The documentary’s stories about Vandross before he became famous are mostly when he was a teenager. As an aspiring singer who lived in New York City, Vandross was able to regularly attend and learn from shows at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Musicians/singers Fonzi Thornton, Robin Clark and Carlos Alomar (who are all interviewed in the documentary) were friends and collaborators with Vandross, beginning from their teenage years and through their adulthoods.

Vandross became known for his suave and soulful vocals and his romantic songs, but he didn’t start out as a solo artist. He got his earliest experiences as a professional singer by being a member of singing groups. As a teenager, Vandross was in a group with Thornton and Alomar called Shades of Jade, which performed once at the Apollo. Even in these early years, Vandross had a clear vision of the stylish image that he wanted as an entertainer.

Thornton tells a story about how Vandross insisted that the members of Shades of Jade wear a certain type of green shoes that cost $23 per pair at the time. Thornton says that Thornton’s mother initially refused to pay that amount of money for the shoes. But somehow, after Vandross had a conversation with Thornton’s mother, she changed her mind. Thornton says with admiration: “He was a boss from the beginning.”

Shades of Jade didn’t last. But as a young adult in the late 1960s, Vandross went on to get his first big break as part of a theater singing group of men and women called Listen My Brother, which had many songs about Black Pride and was managed by Apollo Theater leaders. Thornton, Clark and Alomar were also members of Listen My Brother, which had 10 to 16 members. One day, “Sesame Street” puppeteer Jim Henson saw Listen My Brother perform and was so impressed, he got the group booked on “Sesame Street” for several episodes during the show’s first season in 1969. It was the type of exposure that led to Listen My Brother getting bigger and better gigs.

Even though Vandross clearly had a unique voice and exceptional talent, Vandross was prevented from being a frontman in the confines of Listen My Brother. “He wasn’t the top dog,” according to Alomar, who blames it on the entertainment industry’s tendency to give preference to slender entertainers who fit conventional beauty standards. Alomar candidly says that Vandross had limitations put on his career aspirations because of bias against Vandross’ physical appearance: “He was too black and too heavy.”

After Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in New York City in 1969, he attended Western Michigan University, but he dropped out after less than a year to pursue a career as a professional singer. According to Thornton, Vandross’ mother wasn’t too upset about him being a college dropout because she believed that her youngest child had a special talent as a singer and he was destined to become a star.

Unfortunately, “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t say much else about Vandross’ family during his formative years as a professional singer, particularly when it comes to his mother, who seemed to be his biggest supporter at this time. Vandross’ niece Seveda Williams is interviewed in the documentary, but she makes mostly generic comments about Vandross’ work ethic and talent.

During the 1970s, Vandross became an in-demand backup singer and a singer for commercial jingles. As an up-and-coming artist, he was influenced by 1970s Philadelphia soul music, as exemplified by hits written and produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff for artists such as the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and Teddy Pendergrass. It was during this time that Vandross began to hone his skills as a musical arranger and producer.

Vandross’ first “crossover” hit as a backup singer was working on David Bowie’s 1975 “Young Americans” album, where Vandross can be heard prominently on the album’s title track. Vandross met Bowie through Alomar, who was Bowie’s longtime guitarist/backup singer. Clark and Alomar (who have been married since 1970) are among the backup singers on Bowie’s “Young Americans” album. The documentary includes some rare archival footage of Vandross and Bowie in these recording sessions.

Ava Cherry, who worked with Bowie as a backup singer on the “Young Americans” album and other collaborations, is one of the people interviewed in the documentary. Bowie encouraged Vandross’ songwriting talent and co-wrote the “Young Americans” album track “Fascination” with Vandross. “Fascination” was originally a Vandross song called “Funky Music (Is a Part of Me).”

Vandross also had success as a backup singer for numerous other artists, including Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Chic and Sister Sledge. But he made even more money as a singer/songwriter for commercial jingles for company brands such as Juicy Fruit, Miller Beer, Gino’s and Löwenbräu, just to name a few. As seen in archival interviews, Vandross said he used a lot of the lucrative income that he made as a jingle singer/songwriter to fund his own demo recordings, with the hope of getting a record deal where he could perform songs that he wrote, arranged and produced.

Vandross eventually got record deals as the frontman for a group named Luther and later for a group called Change, while still maintaining a career as a backup singer. Flack is the person who is credited the most with encouraging Vandross to make the leap to become a solo artist. It wasn’t easy because he got rejected by every major label. But after getting a second chance from a different person at Epic Records, Vandross signed with Epic as a solo artist. And that’s when his career took off and never looked back.

His first solo album—1981’s “Never Too Much”—was a hit and featured the title track as his breakout solo single. The cadence of the song was unusual for R&B hits at the time and was an example of Vandross’ determination to stand out from other R&B singers. Most of Vandross’ songs were about the joys and heartbreak of love. Don’t expect the documentary to reveal the inspirations for most of these songs, since Vandross was secretive about his love life.

Nat Adderley Jr., who was Vandross’ music director at the time, comments in the documentary about the first time he heard the “Never Too Much” song: “It sounded so different than anything on the radio, but I didn’t [think] it would be a hit.” The documentary has some commentary on how Vandross created and recorded his music. But considering all the great songs that he wrote and produced, “Luther: Never Too Much” does not have enough information about this aspect of his artistry as a songwriter and a producer.

Several people in the documentary also say that in addition to his recordings, Vandross was very particular and specific about every aspect of his live performances. He personally chose the elaborate costumes for his backup singers and the type of theatrical-inspired productions he wanted to bring to his concerts. His own personal fashion sense on stage can be described as being a Vegas performer and cabaret singer.

Vandross had a steady string of hits for the rest of his solo career. His best-known songs include 1986’s “Stop to Love”; 1989’s “Here and Now” (for which he won his first Grammy Award in 1991, after previously being nominated nine times); 1991’s “Power of Love/Love Power”; 1992’s “The Best Things in Life Are Free” (a duet with Janet Jackson); a 1994 cover version of “Endless Love” (a duet with Mariah Carey); and 2003’s “Dance With My Father.”

With all of this success, Vandross still had deep insecurities about his physical appearance. In several interviews, he said he was an “emotional eater” who used food to cope with anxieties and stresses in his life. His weight drastically fluctuated and was the topic of many jokes and interview questions. (The documentary includes a 1980s clip from an Eddie Murphy stand-up comedy show where Murphy pokes fun at Vandross’ weight.) Publicly, Vandross mostly took this type of scrutiny in stride. Privately, it all bothered him immensely.

There was also gossip abut Vandross’ sexuality. Although he never publicly stated his sexual identity, Vandross (a lifelong bachelor with no kids) was a mostly closeted gay man who was afraid to come out of the closet because he knew it would upset his mother and hurt his career. “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t mention anything about anyone whom Vandross dated, although some of that information is publicly available elsewhere. It was only after Vandross died that people who knew him felt comfortable to publicly admit that he was gay.

Vandross usually ignored or refused to confirm or deny media reports about his sexuality. People he dated when he was famous also kept quiet about his sexual identity by not talking to the media about their experiences with him. However, one rumor that he vehemently denied was that he had AIDS. The documentary mentions that Vandross sued a British magazine in 1985, because the magazine claimed that AIDS, not dieting, was the reason for his weight loss that year.

A huge reason for Vandross’ reluctance to publicly admit his homosexuality is because so much of his image was about being a singer whose songs were the soundtracks of many heterosexual people’s love lives. Jamie Foxx (one of the documentary’s producers) comments on the effect that Vandross’ music had on people’s romances: “Back in the day, if you wanted to fall in love, you let Luther do the work for you.”

The only thing that anyone in the documentary will say about Vandross’ personal life as a celebrity was that he was unlucky in finding lasting love with a romantic partner. Vandross’ former personal assistant Max Szadek says that Vandross’ 1988 song “Any Love” (a bittersweet ballad of wanting any love that is offered) was Vandross’ favorite song because it was autobiographical for Vandross. Vandross co-wrote “Any Love” (the title track from his 1988 album) with Marcus Miller, a frequent collaborator with Vandross as a songwriter and bass player in Vandross’ band. Miller is one of the people interviewed in the documentary.

Szadek says he saw firsthand how lonely Vandross’ life was behind the scenes, which is why Szadek says “Any Love” became difficult for Szadek to hear the more he got to know Vandross. As for Vandross being coy and vague with the public about his love life, Szadek will only say, “I think he couldn’t share all of himself.” Szadek gets tearful later in the documentary when he remembers finding Vandross unconscious from a stroke in Vandross’ New York City home in 2003. The documentary gives almost no information—aside from brief archival interview clips of Vandross—about Vandross’ recovery process after he had his stroke, such as how he lost and regained his ability to walk.

Racism was another struggle that Vandross had, according to singer/songwriter Richard Marx, who collaborated with Vandross on “Dance With My Father.” Marx says in the documentary that Vandross would privately confide in him about how record companies that had contracts with Vandross would give him lower budgets and less support than white artists who were at the same level of celebrity as Vandross. Vandross also had frustrations about being pigeonholed as being an artist for mostly black audiences, when Vandross believed that his music appealed to people of all races.

Music mogul Clive Davis signed Vandross to Davis’ now-defunct J Records in 2000, after Vandross left Epic Records and had a brief one-album stint with Virgin Records. Davis is interviewed in the documentary but only comments on the race issue by saying an obvious fact: Radio can be very racially segregated. It’s a missed opportunity that the documentary did not get Davis to comment on how record-company racism affects artists, especially since Davis was in charge of one of the record companies that signed Vandross.

Even though people in the documentary explicitly say that Vandross felt he got racial discrimination from record companies, you get the feeling that Davis didn’t comment on this issue in “Luther: Never Too Much” because the documentary filmmakers were too afraid to ask Davis. “Luther: Never Too Much” has a reluctance to dig deeper and reveal uncomfortable truths about Vandross’ life. It’s a celebrity documentary that stays in the comfort zone of having interview soundbites that do nothing but praise the celebrity.

Some of the soundbites are nice but utterly bland. Vandross’ “Endless Love” duet partner Carey says predictable things about Vandross such as, “I was really honored when he brought me out to sing with him.” Warwick says in the documentary about Vandross’ tribute to her at the 1986 NAACP Image Awards, where he performed “A House Is Not a Home” and she got tearful in the audience: “He really showed out that night.” These are perfectly pleasant soundbites but ultimately say nothing interesting or informative.

Other people interviewed in the documentary include Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers, singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson, music journalist Danyel Smith, music executive Jon Platt, commercial producer Deborah McDuffie and backup singer Kevin Owens. Rodgers gives credit to Vandross for helping shape Chic’s catchy disco sound. “Luther Vandross’ vocals played a big part,” Rodgers comments in the documentary.

Even when “Luther: Never Too Much” mentions a big tragedy in Vandross’ life, the documentary leaves out important details. On January 12, 1986, Vandross was driving a car in Los Angeles, with two passengers in the car: his then-protégé Jimmy Salvemini (a singer who was 15 years old at the time) in the back seat and Larry Salvemini (who was Jimmy’s older brother/manager) in the front seat. Vandross was speeding (driving 50 mph in a 35 mph zone) when he crossed over a double line and collided with another car going in the opposite direction.

Larry was killed in this accident, while Vandross and Jimmy were injured. Vandross’ most serious injuries were a broken hip and three broken ribs, while Jimmy had bruises and cuts. Vandross was facing a charge of vehicular manslaughter, but it was reduced to a charge of reckless driving, after no evidence was found that drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident. Vandross pleaded no contest to reckless driving. His driver’s license was suspended for a year.

The documentary’s brief mention of this car accident is mostly about how Vandross felt guilty about the accident and had to take a hiatus to recover from his injuries. The documentary does not mention how this tragedy affected the Salvemini family. That doesn’t mean anyone in the Salvemini family had to be interviewed for the documentary. However, the documentary definitely downplays or ignores how this accident affected anyone other than Vandross.

What “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t mention is that the Salvemini family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Vandross. The case was settled out of court with a reported $630,000 payment to the Salvemini family. There is no reason for a documentary to omit this big fact about the accident except to deliberately leave out unflattering information about the celebrity who’s the subject of the documentary. It’s really unnecessary to try to gloss over or pretend that this lawsuit didn’t exist when it’s public information and part of Vandross’ life.

In interviews, Vandross admitted that food was his biggest addiction. Some of the people who knew Vandross say in this documentary that he was also addicted to work. Lisa Fischer, who was a backup singer for Vandross from the mid-1980s until his 2005 death, remembers him as a “taskmaster” who was inspiring to work with as an artist but who demanded that his subordinates have grueling work schedules with very little free time.

Vandross’ workaholic tendencies no doubt affected his personal life. But because this documentary refuses to give or discuss any information on how Vandross liked to spend his free time, it leaves noticeable voids of unanswered questions. “Luther: Never Too Much” works best as a documentary for people who want an overview of Vandross’ public persona and his extraordinary talent as an entertainer. But for people who want a complete story of who Vandross was as a person, “Luther: Never Too Much” is not that documentary, even though it offers a few glimpses into some of his private pain.

Giant Pictures released “Luther: Never Too Much” in select U.S. cinemas on November 1, 2024. CNN will premiere the movie on January 1, 2025.

Review: ‘Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net,’ starring Amber Basgall, Bill May, Emma Garrovillo, Rob Knowles, Pierre Parisien and Daniel Lamarre

August 19, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net”

Directed by Dawn Porter

Culture Representation: Taking place in Las Vegas, the documentary film “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” (filmed from 2020 to 2021) features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans) who are connected in some way to the Montreal-based live performance company Cirque du Soleil.

Culture Clash: The team behind Cirque du Soleil’s long-running “O” show prepares to make a comeback in Vegas after being shut down for more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culture Audience: “Cirque Du Soleil: Without a Net” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of Cirque du Soleil, acrobatic live performances, and documentaries about how businesses recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A scene from “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” (Photo courtesy of Prime Video)

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” is exactly what it appears to be: It’s a feel-good, occasionally dull promotional documentary about Cirque du Soleil’s “O” show return to Las Vegas after the COVID-19 pandemic. Only a few performers get personal profiles. Therefore, som viewers might be bored. This is the type of movie that should be seen on the biggest screen possible or viewers might quickly lose interest. Most of the documentary’s appeal is in the climactic scenes showing the spectacular results of the rehearsal footage that takes up most of the film.

Directed by Dawn Porter, “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” (which was filmed in 2020 and 2021) had its world premiere at the 2022 edition of DOC NYC but wasn’t released until nearly two years later on Prime Video. The movie’s epilogue wasn’t updated and still has wording as if 2023 is in the future. “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” also seems outdated in other areas too. The human stories behind the “O” show comeback hold the movie together when the footage about the show’s technicalities becomes repetitive and not very surprising.

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” begins by explaining that “O” isn’t just the longest-running Cirque du Soleil show, but it’s also the highest-grossing show in live entertainment. Most people who’ve seen “O” probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what the show’s story is about, but they usually rave about the spectacle of it all. There really is no plot to “O,” which has themes of surrealism and romance inspired by water and by European and Eastern cultures.

It’s a performance extravaganza of acrobats, artistic swimmers, trapeze artists, bike riders and dancers doing eye-popping and difficult stunts in an elaborate production set, including a massive stage filled with water. Documentary viewers are told that “O” needs about 2,000 costumes—just to give you an idea of how big the production is. The music of “O” (composed by Benoit Jutras) has a blend of classical Western and world instrumentation.

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” begins in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused shutdowns and quarantines worldwide. As most people know, businesses that require in-person interactions and were deemed “non-essential businesses” were hit the hardest by the pandemic. All of Cirque du Soleil’s shows around the world suddenly came to a halt and were cancelled. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cirque du Soleil (which is headquartered in Montreal) had to lay off more than 90% of its employees. The company also filed for bankruptcy.

Daniel Lamarre, who was Cirque du Soleil’s president/CEO at the time, is seen commenting during the start of these shutdowns: “I never felt in my life we’d have no shows—nothing … For a moment, I thought this was the end.”

It wasn’t the end, of course, but it was a very long hiatus: about 400 days. During this hiatus, many Cirque du Soleil employees had to find other jobs. Some could not return to the company when Las Vegas lifted many quarantine and mask policies, and live shows were allowed to resume. (Lamarre stepped down as Cirque du Soleil’s president/CEO in December 2021, and he was replaced by Stéphane Lefebvre.)

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” shows the preparations made for “O” to resume in Las Vegas, with the re-opening set for August 2021. The “O” performers whose personal lives are featured include:

Amber Basgall, an acrobat who took gymnastics as a child to help cope with her attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Danut Coserat, an artist coach who is a single father to two children.
Emma Garrovillo, an aerialist whose husband Jeffrey Garovillo is a Cirque du Soleil technician.
Rob Knowles, a dancer who fondly remembers his formative years when he and his brother would take dance classes together.
Bill May, an artistic swimmer who hopes to someday compete in the Olympics if or when men are allowed in artistic swimming for the Olympics.

Basgall has the most compelling personal story. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was going through a difficult divorce. She also opens up about how the death of her brother (an Iraq War veteran who died when she was a teenager, after he returned home to the U.S.) has had a profound and lasting effect on her. She will only say that her brother died by gun violence. And during rehearsals, Basgall was dealing with anxiety issues, as well as some friction with her boyfriend Dre Brown.

Also featured in the documentary Cirque du Soleil employees who are not performers, such as senior artistic director Pierre Parisen, human performance manager Dan Niehaus, manager Joe Walsh, director of public relations Ann Paladie, hair/makeup technician Roger Stricker and senior company manager Tony Ricotta. The documentary only shows the personal lives of a select number of performers. And even then, it’s only fleeting, except for Basgall.

Most of the Cirque du Soleil employees who are identified by name in the documentary do not get enough screen time for viewers to find out anything meaningful about them as people. Also shown in “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” are acrobat Pierre Cottin, coach Al Light, carpentry supervisor Steve Dietrich, writer Franco Dragone, coach Kari Kreitzer, artistic director Christina Jones, acrobat Andriy Marchuk, diver Jorge Coseru, acrobat Artur Akhtiamov and coach Didier Antoine.

“Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” shows the technicalities that go into producing the “O” show, but there’s nothing surprising about the behind-the-scenes preparations. Even the “race against time” to get the show running again in less than a month doesn’t seem too suspenseful. Watching “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” is a perfectly fine way to pass the time for people interested in this subject matter, but this is a very “play it safe” documentary that doesn’t go beyond what you might expect from a corporate-approved movie.

Prime Video premiere “Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net” on July 25, 2024.

2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards: ‘Good Night Oppy’ is the top winner

November 10, 2022

by Carla Hay

A digital recreation of the robotic rover Opportunity in “Good Night Oppy” (Image courtesy of Prime Video/Amazon Content Services)

With five prizes, the Mars exploration movie “Good Night Oppy” was the top winner at the Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which were presented at the Edison Ballroom in New York City, on November 13, 2022. “Good Night Oppy” (from Amazon Studios) earned the awards for Best Documentary Feature, Best Director (for Ryan White), Best Musical Score (for Blake Neely), Best Narration and Best Science/Nature Documentary. “Good Night Oppy” (which tells the story of how NASA sent two robots to explore Mars, beginning in 2003) ended up winning five of the six awards for which it was nominated.

In one of his many acceptance speeches, “Good Night Oppy” director White thanked his colleagues and NASA. He also commented when comparing Earth to Mars, “I hope that this film can be a reminder of what can happen to our planet if we don’t treat it with the care it deserves.”

Ryan White at the Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards in New York City on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Carla Hay)

The only other documentary to win more than one prize at the ceremony was the Disney+ three-episode series “The Beatles: Get Back,” which won two awards: Best Limited Documentary Series and Best Music Documentary. “The Beatles: Get Back” (directed by Peter Jackson) is a restored and extended version of the 1970 Beatles documentary “Let It Be,” which was originally directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.

“Fire of Love” (from National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon), a movie directed by Sara Dosa about married French volcanologists Maurice Kraftt and Katia Kraftt, went into the ceremony as the top contender, with seven nominations. In the end, “Fire of Love” got one award: Best Archival Documentary.

The 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards is presented and voted on by the Critics Choice Association. Grammy-nominated performer/writer Wyatt Cenac hosted the show, which was livestreamed for the first time on Facebook Live and Instagram Live.

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards had some other first milestones in 2022. It was the first time that the show was held in the New York City borough of Manhattan, after previously being held in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. In addition, two categories—Best Ongoing Documentary Series and Best Limited Documentary Series—that have traditionally been included in the Critics Choice Real TV Awards are, as of 2022, now being presented at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

Another big change to the show in 2022 was the announcement of the two films that came in second place and third place in votes for the category of Best Documentary Feature. Second place went to “Fire of Love,” while third place went to Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Navalny,” a movie about Russian political activist Alexei Navalny and his investigation into who poisoned him in 2020. The second-place and third-place documentaries were announced before the winner of Best Documentary Feature.

The ceremony also included two non-competitive prizes, whose recipients were announced weeks before the show took place. Oscar-winning documentarian Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County USA” and “American Dream”) was bestowed with the Pennebaker Award (formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award), which was presented to her by D.A. Pennebaker’s widow/filmmaking partner, Chris Hegedus.

Barbara Kopple at the Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards in New York City on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Carla Hay)

Dawn Porter at the Seventh Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards in New York City on November 13, 2022. (Photo by Carla Hay)

In her speech, Kopple thanked her longtime friends Pennebaker and Hegedus for being her mentors, and she expressed gratitude for people in the documentary filmmaking community. Kopple, who began making films in the 1970s, said in her speech that critics play a crucial role in whether or not documentaries can get distribution and find an audience. “I remember when critics wouldn’t even look at documentaries,” Kopple said. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart. All we want is to be able to tell a good story.”

Meanwhile, Dawn Porter (“John Lewis: Good Trouble”) received the Critics Choice Impact Award, given to documentarians whose work is about promoting changes for the better in society. Disney’s Onyx Collective head of documentary programming Jacqueline Glover presented Porter with this award. In her speech, Porter remembered the leap of faith that she took to leave a secure full-time job to make her first documentary, 2013’s “Gideon’s Army.” She thanked her documentary subjects and people she has collaborated with over the years.

Presenters at the show also included style entrepreneur/film producer Kathy Ireland, actor Richard Kind, musician/actor Paul Shaffer, actress Soshana Bean, actor Jeremy Sisto, “Good Night Oppy” director White, actress Tamara Tunie, filmmaker Tonya Lewis Lee, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, musician Willie Colón, actor Erich Bergen and actress/singer Idina Menzel.

Here is the complete list of winners and nominees for the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards:

*=winner

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Aftershock (Hulu)
The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Descendant (Netflix)
Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)
Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)*
The Janes (HBO)
Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)
Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Sidney (Apple TV+)

BEST DIRECTOR

Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)
Margaret Brown – Descendant (Netflix)
Sara Dosa – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Reginald Hudlin – Sidney (Apple TV+)
Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)
Laura Poitras – All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)
Daniel Roher – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ryan White – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)*

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Andrea Arnold – Cow (IFC Films)
Lisa Hurwitz – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Jono McLeod – My Old School (Magnolia Pictures)
Amy Poehler – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)
Alex Pritz – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)
David Siev – Bad Axe (IFC Films)*
Bianca Stigter – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Benjamin Bernhard, Riju Das – All That Breathes (HBO)
Magda Kowalczyk – Cow (IFC Films)
Lucas Tucknott – McEnroe (Showtime)
Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Sam Holling – Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)
The Cinematography Team – Our Great National Parks (Netflix)*
Alex Pritz, Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST EDITING

Jabez Olssen – The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Joe Beshenkovsky – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)
Helen Kearns, Rejh Cabrera – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)
Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)*
Langdon Page, Maya Daisy Hawke – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)
Katharina Wartena – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST SCORE

Hummie Mann – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Nicolas Godin – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Blake Neely – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)*
Max Avery Lichtenstein – The Janes (HBO)
David Schwartz – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)
Marius de Vries, Matt Robertson – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST NARRATION

Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story (Fin and Fur Films) – Written by Ben Masters; Performed by Matthew McConaughey
Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon) – Written by Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa. Performed by Miranda July
Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios) –Written by Helen Kearns, Ryan White; Performed by Angela Bassett*
Our Great National Parks (Netflix) – Performed by Barack Obama
Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures) – Written by Tobi Haslett; Performed by Charlene Modeste
Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon) – Written by Bianca Stigter; Performed by Helena Bonham Carter

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)*
Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)
Nothing Compares (Showtime)
Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures)
Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)
Descendant (Netflix)*
The Janes (HBO)
Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (Peacock)
Still Working 9 to 5 (Mighty Fine Entertainment)
Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)
The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)
The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)
Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)
The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Peacock)
Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (Sony Pictures Classics)
Sidney (Apple TV+)*
Sr. (Netflix)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)*
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (Sony Pictures Classics)
If These Walls Could Sing (Disney Original Documentary)
Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)
Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)
Nothing Compares (Showtime)
The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile (Sony Pictures Classics)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

Aftershock (Hulu)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)
The Janes (HBO)
Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)*
Retrograde (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (Netflix)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

All That Breathes (HBO)
Cow (IFC Films)
Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)
Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)*
Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)
Return to Space (Netflix)
The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Citizen Ashe (Magnolia/HBO)* (tie)
Hockeyland (Greenwich Entertainment)
Kaepernick & America (Dark Star Pictures)
McEnroe (Showtime)
The Redeem Team (Netflix)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)* (tie)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

38 at the Garden (HBO)
Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison (MTV Documentary Films)
The Flagmakers (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Four Seasons Total Documentary (MSNBC)
My Disability Roadmap (The New York Times Op Docs)
Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)*
Stranger at the Gate (The New Yorker)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)*
Hostages (HBO)
The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)
The Lincoln Project (Showtime)
Our Great National Parks (Netflix)
The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)
We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)*
American Masters (PBS)
Cheer (Netflix)
The Circus (Showtime)
Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

Review: ‘John Lewis: Good Trouble,’ starring John Lewis

July 6, 2020

by Carla Hay

“John Lewis: Good Trouble”

Directed by Dawn Porter

Culture Representation: Taking place in various parts of the United States, the documentary “John Lewis: Good Trouble” features a racially diverse (African American, white, Latino, Asian) group of people (mostly U.S. political insiders) talking about the life and career of Georgia U.S. Representative John Lewis, including Lewis himself.

Culture Clash: Most of the documentary is about Lewis’ ongoing fight for civil rights and social justice.

Culture Audience: This movie will appeal primarily to people with politically liberal views, since Lewis’ conservative opponents and critics are not included in the documentary’s interviews.

John Lewis in “John Lewis: Good Trouble” (Photo by Ben Arnon/Magnolia Pictures)

“John Lewis: Good Trouble” (directed by Dawn Porter) is a respectful biographical documentary that puts a lot of emphasis on the important, trailblazing work that U.S. Representative John Lewis (a Democrat representing Georgia’s 5th congressional district) has done for civil rights. But in the documentary’s enthusiasm to put Lewis on a pedestal, the film shuts out any opposing opinions. Regardless of anyone’s political beliefs, there’s no doubt that Lewis (who participated in the documentary) has led an inspiring life. However, it’s ironic that a man who’s known for standing up to opponents and critics has had his current opponents and critics excluded from a biographical film of his life.

Almost everyone interviewed in the movie is part of the U.S. mainstream political establishment, a Lewis family member, or someone who works for Lewis. The only Republican interviewed in the film is U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, who’s represented Wisconsin’s 5th congressional district since 1979.

Sensenbrenner, who is a former chair of the House judiciary committee, doesn’t really say anything substantial. He essentially praises himself and Lewis for being able to work together: “I think the cooperation, which has been outstanding, between John Lewis and myself ends up being an example that we can get important things done by being bipartisan, whereas if we were not bipartisan, they never would’ve happened.

Other people interviewed in the documentary are Democratic politicians Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, James E. Clyburn, Cory Booker, Stacey Abrams, Ayanna Pressley, Sheila Jackson Lee and the late Elijah Cummings, who said he’s flattered when people mistake him for Lewis. And there are other known Democrats who are among the chorus of praise for Lewis in the movie, such as former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, civil rights activist Bernard Lafayette Jr. and professor/historian Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Lewis’ past and present subordinates also share their thoughts, including Anthony Johnson (Lewis’ former press secretary); Michael Collins (chief of staff); Brenda Jones (communications director); Ruth Berg (former receptionist); Rachelle O’Neill (senior constituent and external affairs liaison). Lewis’ family members and close friends who are interviewed in the documentary include siblings Henry Lewis, Ethel Lewis-Tyner and Samuel Lewis; son John Miles Lewis; and Xernona Clayton, who was a close friend of John Lewis’ late wife Lillian Miles Lewis, who passed away in 2012, at the age of 73.

Clyburn (a U.S. Representative from South Carolina) says of John Lewis: “He’s probably the most courageous person I ever met.” Ocasio-Cortez (a U.S. Representative from New York) says that she wouldn’t be where she is today had it not been for the trails blazed by John Lewis and other civil-rights activists. “So much of John Lewis’ activism was to highlight the inaction of the federal government.”

Hillary Clinton has this to say about John Lewis: “His voice and his example are needed, now as much as they’ve ever been since he was a young man.” Abrams comments: “You cannot replace John Lewis. It’s a matter of strategy, someone who has cultivated a story to remind us that our past has not passed.”

It’s not surprising that John Lewis doesn’t get any criticism from any of the people interviewed for this documentary. (And if they did say anything negative about him, it didn’t make it into the film.) What saves this movie from completely one-sided banality is that it does present an excellent historical view of the obstacles and brutal struggles that John Lewis has faced to fight for the causes that he believes in and passionately advocates. The film does a very good job presenting him as someone who doesn’t give up easily. He’s got a fiery and opinionated personality, but he also has deep compassion for others.

John Lewis (who was born in 1940 in Troy, Alabama) was at the forefront of the U.S. civil rights movement that began in the 1950s and blossomed into groundbreaking laws and sweeping social change in the 1960s. In the documentary, he remembers how his parents discouraged him from getting involved because they feared for his safety. But he ignored their concerns and decided to join the movement, despite getting beaten up and arrested several times.

John Lewis has always been a proponent of peaceful protests (consistent with what Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. also advocated), and he says he was also heavily influenced by Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., who taught him how to organize and act in peaceful demonstrations. The “good trouble” in the documentary’s title refers to John Lewis’ well-known catch phrase for the kind of trouble he likes to get into: If it’s for a good and worthy cause, it’s “good trouble.”

People who know about Lewis’ civil-rights history and what he does as a U.S. Representative probably won’t learn anything new from watching this documentary, which includes lots of great archival footage of his civil-rights activities. There’s also newer footage, such as when he gave speeches at rallies for fellow Democrats who ran for government positions in the 2018 mid-term elections. Beto O’Rourke, Colin Allred, Marc Veasey, Abrams and Lizzie Fletcher are some of the politicians who received John Lewis’ enthusiastic endorsement during their campaigns.

Although “John Lewis: Good Trouble” doesn’t uncover anything new or surprising about him, it will be an eye-opening documentary for people who don’t know much about John Lewis, who is a bona fide hero to a lot of Democrats and liberal-leaning voters. Much of the film discusses the personal sacrifices he went through to fight for a greater cause. Therefore, it’s no wonder that the documentary includes a lot of footage of star-struck people greeting Lewis with joyful hugs, enthusiastic handshakes and sincere thank yous when he goes out in public. The documentary also shows his lighter side by mentioning the viral video of John Lewis dancing to Pharrell Wlliams’ “Happy” (which is one of John Lewis’ favorite songs) in 2014.

It’s apparent from watching the film that his life revolves around his work, but that doesn’t mean that John Lewis has lost his priorities in how he treats people close to him. His chief of staff Collins gets emotional and teary-eyed when he remembers that when his father died in 2006, John Lewis went to the funeral of Collins’ dad instead of being at the historical signing of the re-authorization of the Voting Rights Act, which eliminated policies designed to prevent people of color and financially disadvantaged people from voting.

In the documentary, Pelosi (a U.S. Representative from California) says that the re-authorization Voting Rights Act poor people and is one of Lewis’ biggest legacies: “One of the greatest experiences in the Congress which I treasure was working under John Lewis’ leadership and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus. We put together [the re-authorization of] the Voting Rights Act, which was passed in 2006.”

Even though the documentary has a plethora of praise from John Lewis’ current Democratic allies, the film doesn’t shy away from including details of past conflicts that John Lewis had with people fighting for the same causes. He says he was essentially removed as leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) when Stokely Carmichael was elected national chairman in 1966, because the SNCC no longer agreed with John Lewis’ pacifist beliefs. The documentary also mentions the friendship-turned-bitter-rivalry between John Lewis and fellow civil-rights activist Julian Bond when they campaigned against each other in 1986 for the same Georgia congressional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Carmichael died in 1998, and Bond died in 2015, but it would’ve been interesting for the documentary to include the perspectives of people who were allies of Carmichael and Bond when they were political rivals to John Lewis. The closest that the documentary comes to interviewing anyone who speaks of having political tensions with John Lewis is when Bill Clinton (who is pro-death penalty) comments that John Lewis’ anti-death penalty views helped Bill Clinton became more open-minded on the issue. Bill Clinton says of John Lewis: “He was against the death penalty as a matter of conscience.”

“John Lewis: Good Trouble” could have been a boring retrospective about a longtime politician/activist looking back on his glory days. But the documentary makes it clear that he’s still got a lot of fight in him for challenges facing the U.S. and the world today. And true to his nature, he’s not going to back down from any fights.

As he says in the opening scene of the documentary: “I feel lucky and blessed that I’m serving in the Congress, but there are forces today trying to take us back to another time and dark period. We’ve come so far, we’ve made so much progress, but as a nation and as a people, we’re not quite there yet. We have miles to go.”

Magnolia Pictures released “John Lewis: Good Trouble” in select U.S. cinemas, on digital and on VOD on July 3, 2020.

July 17, 2020 UPDATE: John Lewis died of pancreatic cancer on July 17, 2020. He was 80 years old. Lewis had publicly announced his cancer diagnosis in December 2019.