I was at a St. Patrick’s Day party with some friends. One of whom was this British fellow I’d just recently met, taking him around to meet the group. After shooting the shit for a few minutes, HE brought up Michelle Obama, citing how inspiring she was. I have been a fan of the Obamas for a variety of reasons, but it wasn’t until this exchange that I realized how popular Michelle was across the board. Becoming is the promotional material about her life during her book tour and during her life change from mother/civic ambassador to First Lady, inspiring if bordering on too hagiographic.
I didn’t kid myself. Naming the documentary after your book meant that this film was going to be promotional material for Michelle Obama, the public figure. The movie is a tug of war between sales pitch for the heroine to many and something more personal Lady M wants to be. Now, that doesn’t mean focusing on Mrs. Obama is a bad thing. Her story deserves recognition for how inspiring it really is. I mean, she overcame all sorts of systemic obstacles to become a Princeton/Harvard graduate at a high powered law firm. That level of commitment to excellence she then transitioned into being a wife and mother, and eventually to also being the First Lady of the United States. Throughout the doc, MichObo shows that thoughtful, deliberate decision making process she took to everything she does, growing and evolving with every new situation/challenge presented to her.
If the doc were just that, I would have started eye rolling about halfway through, unable to see past the documentary’s attempt to deify Lady MO. However, the best parts of this documentary are when Michelle the Belle cedes her time to others around her like family or people she meets on the book tour. This could have been irritating, but the documentarians handle this deftly. Michelle Da Bama cares most during the book tour about passing what she’s learned onto the younger generation, especially women of color or poor upbringings. We get snippets of some of these kids lives; it’s amazing how inspiring they already are, but lack the perspective Michelle provides to them, pushing them past those glass ceilings put in place by their situation or society. These parts are so good and different for documentary filmmaking I almost wish this had been the whole doc: Michelle the Inspirer imparting wisdom onto the youth, making them push to be greater than they thought they could be.
My view at that party watching a British gentleman talking to a south suburban Chicagoan about Michelle ObamElle is evident in those faces in the crowds at her book tour or at her book signings, excited and intently listening to someone amazing. That’s why during this whole review I decided that Michelle Obama needs a nickname. I think Michelle the Belle is probably my favorite, but I’m open to suggestions, especially from her posse of Michelle’s Belles.