WORDS Evans Bailey
It’s hard not to compare 20 Feet From Stardom and Waiting for Sugar Man. Both share elements familiar to just about every rock-doc. The interviews with rock luminaries saying how awesome the subject is/are and how much their tunes inspired the far more famous person, the archive footage, and the interviews with the subject. Both movies also have a common subject, forgotten artists who never quite made it to superstardom, and both movies won
best documentary feature at the Academy Awards. But where Waiting for Sugar Man drove home to a familiar “Behind the Music”-type redemption, 20 Feet From Stardom veers slightly off course.
For those out-of-the-know, 20 Feet focuses on several oft-heard, but never truly famous background singers from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Most share the same background—black gospel choirs. Most also reach a similar conclusion—being not-so rich and famous. Despite this commonality, there are some standouts from the at least 15 singers featured in the movie. Darlene Love describes the shock at having her lead vocal on “He’s a Rebel” attributed to another act. Merry Clayton talks about the midnight session where she sang the haunting refrain of “Rape! Murder!” on the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”— while pregnant. Finally, Sting (leave it to the famous person to steal the show) gets down to the real gist of the film: it’s not really talent that separates these background women (and some men) from becoming huge superstars; it is really just a combination of luck and circumstance.
Unfortunately, the decision to include so many talented musicians in the film leaves little opportunity to explore more of the luck and circumstances that is so obviously at play. For this many singers with this many stories, you only get hints. Tata Vega says she would be dead now if she were famous. Betty Love briefly describes how creepy-ass Phil Spector derailed her solo career to keep her as a backup. Why can Luther Vandross or Sheryl Crow go from backup to superstar, and Lisa Fischer can’t?
There’s just not enough time to cover all the circumstances in just 91 minutes. So filmmaker Morgan Neville takes a different route.
About two thirds of the way into the film it flashes from the late 80’s early 90’s to the present and
the life of Judith Hill. You may remember Hill from Season 4 of the Voice. Tall, gorgeous, and ridiculously talented, Hill was set to star in a backup role as part of Michael Jackson’s comeback tour before he died—leaving her career in limbo. Talented enough to have fans, she’s still not rich or famous enough to turn down gigs. To compromise, she wears wigs for her backup singing jobs so her fans won’t be disappointed. Not to take anything away from her talent or story (she was robbed, Carson Daly!!), but the first 60 minutes of the film and the last 30—focusing on Hill—seem like different films with only a tenuous connection.
I’d much rather watch fuller versions of either, but the mishmash final product is still worth its Oscar. Everyone dreams of being famous, and most would settle for the ohh-so-close lives studied in this film. Grab a few beers at Leroy and go see it at the Capri April 12-15. 20 Feet is not as clear or “feel-good” as Sugar Man, but the tunes are way better and you get to see 70’s David Bowie as a coked-up ghost.
Catch this film at The Capri, April 12-15. The Capri is located on Fairview Avenue. Visit www.capritheatre.org for info.