The opening credits consisted of
Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side", and I was in tears by the "and all the
colored girls say 'do do do'". This song is a classic example of a song where
one remembers the background vocals more than the rest of the song. That is the
subject of this fascinating documentary. Featuring fantastic singers like Lisa
Fischer, Darlene Love, and Tata Vega, this movie gives us a glimpse of how
awesome, versatile, and, in some cases, straight-up better than the singers
they back up.
This movie was
difficult to watch throughout, seeing these beautiful, talented ladies work so
hard to try to achieve solo stardom, and it just doesn't happen for reasons
unknown. Sometimes they lack the ego; sometimes they miss their window, and
sometimes life just shits on people. There were a few who realized they prefer
the smaller spotlight, but for the most part, they all had the drive. I am
happy that an inspirational story does not come off as cliché"”in fact, it was a
nice reminder that one should always do what they love. Even if it doesn't work
out, you can at least say you tried, which is more than most can say.
