Lady Gaga Takes On Madonna, Super Bowl & Hip Pain in ‘Gaga: Five Foot Two’ [TIFF Review]

TORONTO – Since Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also know the world over as Lady Gaga, first burst on the scene with in 2008 with the smash single “Just Dance” she’s been outspoken about her music, her life and her beliefs in public. Perhaps she was playing on a bit of a character during those early years, but eventually her true personality came to the forefront. Gaga’s fans, affectionately known as “Monsters,” believe they know their pop goddess somewhat intimately thanks to her lengthy interviews and social media interactions. In Chris Moukarbel’s new documentary “Gaga: Five Foot Two,” which debuted at the 2017  Toronto International Film Festival, they’ll be surprised to learn she has managed to keep some secrets to herself over the years.

The Netflix production basically follows Gaga for seven months beginning in July 2016 until her Super Bowl half-time performance in February of this year. Shot in an observational vérité style, “Five Foot Two” (that’s Gaga’s height if you hadn’t figured it out) starts off with her in the studio working on her most recent album, “Joanne,” with producer Mark Ronson and guests vocalists such as Florence Welch. The film dives deep into her conception for the project and the her new “less glam” style she intends to segue into with the launch (the idea was more black jeans and a white t-shirt rather than the pink hat that’s become identified with this Gaga “era”).

Eventually the film makes some familiar pit stops on the road to the release. She shoots the “Perfect Illusion” video in the California desert. She does a slew of media interviews. She does a series of smaller shows to kick off the release of the album. During one clearly calculated social media moment she and her manager walk into a New York City Walmart to see how her album is positioned in the new releases section (yikes, it wasn’t) and after she puts them in the proper area she’s confronted by the store manager who – surprise – realizes who she is and asks for the requisite photo for his wife.  She surprises a hardcore fan during an iHeart radio promo.  You get the drift.

The last quarter of the film follows Gaga as she prepares for her Super Bowl performance, but the only background you get about the creative direction for the show was that she wanted to do exactly the opposite of what her critics and fans would expect (ie, no crazy meat dress, no “shocking” moment). And if anyone took anything political out of it, that was fine by her (Gaga basically addressing on camera she knew the word “transgender,” a portion of a lyric in her song “Born This Way,” was a first for the most watched sporting event in the world). Oh, and she gets frustrated with her dancers and the fabric of the inside of a jacket because it will take too long to slip into, but that’s about it. You aren’t going to see her learn how to use the harness that dropped her from the ceiling of the stadium or find out where that idea or any of the others came from. “Five Foot Two” is mostly about a woman pushing forward with her career in pain, and we’re talking chronic literal pain.

Gaga mentions at the beginning of the film that she’s just broken up with her fiancée, Taylor Kinney.  Unless you were more than a casual fan of Gaga’s you wouldn’t know who she was referring to, how long they were together or any background on their relationship whatsoever. That is one of the notable flaws Moukarbel’s doc and you have to conjecture that’s because Gaga didn’t want to dive into it or have it be discussed more than a fleeting reference. (Moukarbel also makes the mistake that anyone watching will know Gaga and Tony Bennett did an album and small tour together.  When she sings at his Birthday celebration you have no context why she’s there).

What Gaga does reveal is the chronic pain she’s endured since she tore her hip in 2012 during the “Born This Way” tour. At no point during the film is Gaga touring or doing outrageous physical activity and yet she’s constantly having the hip worked over and iced even during days she’s just hanging around her Malibu home. It makes you wonder what she’s enduring now as she crosses North America (and soon the world) for the “Joanne” tour that began earlier this summer. Furthermore, you learn she has searing, chronic pain on one side of her body for years. At one point she even tells the camera she’s not sure how she would have survived it if she didn’t have the staff of massage therapists and doctors to help her cope with it.

This critic isn’t a doctor, but sometimes plays one in print. Gaga reveals she also suffers from anxiety attacks and is seeing another doctor for the “mental” aspect of this non-hip pain which pretty much means much a lot of the non-hip pain could be a direct result of anxiety. And that’s one-thing that fans and non-fans will both take away from watching the film. This is one artist who cares deeply about getting it right. She does not want to fail, at anything. She’s not obsessive about it, but she wears her hopes on her sleeves. It’s an emotional thing for her.  And that can take a toll.

“Five Foot Two” is also noteworthy in terms of music history in that Gaga brings up her sort of rival Madonna not once, but twice. While taking a break from recording “Joanne” she reveals that as an “Italian from New York” she wished Madonna, also Italian, wouldn’t have used the press to call her out as “reductive” (in case you were unaware, the main point of this current “feud” centers on the fact many believe Gaga’s hit “Born This Way” sound a lot like Madonna’s classic “Express Yourself”). Gaga wishes she’d just came up to her in person, looked her in the eye, kissed her and called her out for it. She later mocks herself brings up the “reductive” comment again weeks later (So, if you’re reading any of these reviews Madge, we’d suggest a dinner or a drink somewhere to clear the air).

Moreover, as much as Moukarbel spotlights the highlights of Gaga’s life during this period it’s also quizzical what he doesn’t. This movie is a snapshot of a specific part of her life. It includes her concern over one of the members of the Haus of Gaga (her creative collaborators) having brain cancer (the film is dedicated to her). She performs at a charity concert during the Democratic National Convention where Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey introduces her. She disses Donald Trump while getting ready to release the album. And yet, the most seminal event of this period, the most significant event in the U.S. since Sept. 11, the presidential election, is never mentioned. This despite the fact Gaga was the main headliner at a North Carolina rally the night before Election Day, a rally that was officially the last of Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Gaga was a big Clinton supporter during this time and the fact it isn’t mentioned at all is just…bizarre. And, of course, Moukarbel and Gaga make passing references to past boyfriends such as Kinney, but never give any real context  – there’s that word again – to who they were or what happened so it’s a consistent issue.

Whether you like Lady Gaga or not, whether you even liked “Joanne” (surprise, the fact it got mixed reviews and had disappointing sales is never really addressed) you will at least finish “Five Foot Two” with a newfound respect for her. She has been and still is the real deal as a musician and she’s battling physical demons to support her art and reward her millions of loyal fans. But she’s not gonna give you or someone capturing her life everything. There’s still got to be some mystery to pine after. [Lady Gaga fans A-, Non-fans B]

“Gaga: Five Foot Two” is expected to be released on Netflix over the next few months.

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