Former and future First Lady Melania Trump remains a mystery to many Americans.
The previous model kept a relatively low profile for beginners. It didn’t help that women’s magazines refused to profile her during her husband’s first four years in office. We expect the same media blackout during his next presidential term.
She even kept her diary Many personal details are elusive.
This explains why Amazon announced an official documentary focusing on Melania Trump. The untitled film is scheduled to arrive in theaters in the second half of the year, and is directed by canceled director Brett Rather, according to press reports.
Melania Trump Amazon Prime releases ‘unprecedented’ documentary about the first lady’s life pic.twitter.com/TRASkRttIb
– New York Post (@nypost) January 5, 2025
However, it is not the first documentary on the subject.
The 2020 film “Looking for Melania Trump” peeks behind her immaculate public face. On paper at least. In fact, the documentary reveals more about the filmmakers and their embarrassing dearth of research.
The film is available to Prime Video subscribers and via YouTube at the link Hipster channel.
Paper thin barely describes a film that approaches the hour mark, but doesn’t exceed it. Fillers abound, and for every objective observation, there are dozens that are either cruel or trivial.
The trip begins in Slovenia, home of Melania Trump. We spend a little time here, and fast forward to New York where the young model has found some success.
How much does it cost? The documentary does not care about such details. Go to Google, maybe?
We get endless talk about beautiful women and the satirical nature of modeling, a revelation that’s on par with the sunrise every morning.
We are told that Melania Trump disappeared for three years, and the narrator ponders where she might have gone. Yes, Russia is a fictional destination.
naturally.
The former model “gradually becomes the ideal wife,” we are told, part of the film’s endless commentary built on snapshots of files and grievances.
Interviews are sparse. We briefly meet an old friend, a real estate agent working in the Palm Beach area, and a photographer who describes the young Melania as programmed and purposeful.
Later, we get an extended glimpse of The Trumpettes, MAGA superfans who love all things Trump.
Like the first lady.
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Director Laura Haim implies that this is Melania Trump’s fate, to grow old and wander around tacky Florida parties once Donald Trump leaves this mortal coil.
Maybe the real Melania Trump is already an empty vessel. Or she is wiser and more winning than anyone expects. The film doesn’t come close to resolving its central mystery.
Instead, we meet a woman in her 40s who embraces plastic surgery to look like Melania Trump. Stop, please! We are learning a lot.
The few interesting moments come when the filmmakers ask Trump supporters why they are embracing the future first lady. These future voters offer a lot to her.
Graceful. amazing. Kind. sick.
This is all true to an extent, but it’s more wish fulfillment than anything else.
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The tone here is strangely respectful, even if the narration is scarce. The off-the-left series involving former state Rep. Christina Hagan, allegedly inspired by Melania Trump’s influence on the Republican Party, seems sympathetic at times.
It might have been better if Looking had relied on its flashy premise. Go big or go home. Ask Michael Moore how that works.
Ka-ching!
Instead, the sober presentation contrasts with the capital letters in motion.
The film focuses heavily on minor moments in Trump’s first term, such as the First Lady swatting away her husband’s hand at a public event and a jacket that puts the far-left media in its place.
Scandals, everything. At least according to the story.
The funniest comment comes from a reporter from the far-left Daily Beast. The journalist reads exactly what you would expect her to read to both the First Lady and women in the GOP circle. Does anyone have a grain of salt?
Independent film production values are not low. The musical choices are similarly catchy, and even hilarious at times. This doesn’t seem like a rush job, although the lack of detail is annoying.
You may not know much about the First Lady after watching the movie “Looking for Melania Trump.”