Little Richard: I Am Everything focuses on the star's roots in — and struggle with — his connection to queer culture. TV critic Eric Deggans says it's a masterpiece.
There is one question that stands at the heart of the CNN documentary, emerging as something of a mission statement for the film. And it's best articulated by Fredara Hadley, a ethnomusicologist at the Julliard School.
"What would it do to the American mythology of rock music," Hadley says,"to say that its pioneers were Black, queer people?"Director Lisa Cortes builds her film around that question. The movie often unfolds like it's sprinkled with pixie dust, alternating clips of powerhouse performances by Little Richard and random footage of shooting stars with incisive interviews from relatives, former bandmates, former lovers and the many celebrities he inspired.
For music fans, the film is a poignant reminder of just how good Little Richard was as a performer and singer, especially in the 1950s and '60s. We see him captivate crowds with his percussive piano style and preacher's swagger, sweating through loads of pancake makeup with a pencil-thin moustasche and serious pompadour hairstyle.
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