A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of attending a screening of Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D. The screening was hosted by one of the film’s executive producers, Craig Brewer (director of Footloose). After the last-minute delay of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, this film became Paramount’s only major release of the summer and they wanted to send it off right by hosting sneak preview screenings all over the country, some attended by Katy Perry herself.
After pre-show live entertainment by a local artist, Craig Brewer introduced the film and said how proud he was of it and how he learned so much about Katy Perry. He concluded by asking the younger viewers of the audience to help the adults sing the Katy Perry songs, but told the adults there would be something special for them at the beginning of the film that they should help the younger viewers sing. As promised, before the film began, a Paramount vault appeared on screen and behind it was a digitally-remastered scene from Randal Kleiser’s Grease: the ever-popular “You’re the One That I Want” number, featuring 3D sing-a-long lyrics. I don’t consider myself a Grease fanatic, but even I have to admit I had never seen or heard the film better.
The movie centers around Katy Perry’s “California Dreams” 2011 tour which spent nearly a year going through the United States and around the world. While the film only features the musical numbers of the concerts, I did some reading and found out that there was a whole multimedia presentation which gave a fantasy world narrative to each concert ala Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. Seeing that, given the 3D aspect, would have been stunning. Yet, I can see from the way the film tries to tell the real story of Katy Perry, adding in the fantasy element would have been somewhat jarring.
The film goes into the history of Katy back when she was still Katy Hudson, Pentecostal Christian gospel singer. While living with her minister parents came restrictions from not being able to eat Lucky Charms cereal and the only mainstream movie she could watch was Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (oddly enough, the original Sister Act was not considered recommend viewing). When she came of age, she moved to LA where she spent her time being the wild child that she hadn’t been before. Inspired by Alanis Morissette, Perry spent time writing angry, edgy songs. Realizing she wasn’t being true to herself, she decided to abandon the dark nature of her earlier work and embrace the fun, pop songs we all know today. You delight in seeing the absolute joy as she hears “I Kissed a Girl” on the radio for the first time.
If there’s one thing I took away from this movie is that Katy Perry is the hardest working woman in music today. She seriously goes out and gives it her all in front of hundreds of people. This is why it is so tragic when her husband, Russell Brand, effectively ended their marriage. You can tell Perry is clearly devastated and yet people are still filing in for a concert. How on Earth could you ask ANYONE to go out and perform in front of hundreds of thousands of people when their most cherished loved one no longer loves them? She manages to pull herself together enough to go out and perform. However, you can see this sadness in her eyes when she helps her sister pick out a wedding dress. Undoubtedly, people will come away with a respect for Miss Perry.
Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D was spectacular. The behind-the-scenes looks at the tour, the look back into Katy’s early career and managing to take a concert tour and find a narrative inside. I have to give a hand to the filmmakers for spending months of going through nearly a year’s worth of footage. That can’t be an easy job for anyone. The end result is a sweet, colorful, fun film led by a beautiful, talented and hard-working songstress.
P.S. My favorite Katy Perry song is “Hot N Cold”. Yes.
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