![]() ![]() While “Running from Crazy,” also re-examined and reified pre-existing footage, with “This Is Everything,” Kopple has SO MUCH footage from Gigi’s home movies and her video archives from her channel, that it becomes almost an exercise in what not to show on film. With “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous,” Kopple takes the challenge of “ Running from Crazy ,” her 2013 film about Mariel Hemingway’s attempt to escape the Hemingway suicide gene, and yet again reinvents the wheel. A gifted documentarian with an almost uncanny ability to turn any subject into a spellbinding story - from labor disputes (“Harlan County, USA” and “American Dream,” both Oscar winners) to celebrity portraits such as “Shut Up and Sing” and “ Miss Sharon Jones! ” - she neither shies away from controversy nor abuses its obvious narrative allure, instead allowing an honest, intimate and innately human narrative to unfold. Throughout the film, Kopple remains a raconteur of the soul. (In homage to those great icons of subtlety, Kylie herself is even featured in some of the footage.) We also witness two somewhat harrowing surgeries: a facial feminization surgery and a boob job. Her look, graduates from high femme to higher femme to extremely high femme née pre- Kanye Kardashian. I knew right then and there that I wanted to be a girl.” The vlogs grow more personal, documenting Gigi’s transition. When Gigi’s mother passed away from cancer in 2012, Gigi-then-Gregory decided, “Life was short. We watch as Gigi (then still Gregory Gorgeous) doing makeup tutorials on YouTube. We see Gigi first as Greg the champion diver. Since “This Is Everything” proceeds chronologically, we get to go on Gigi’s transition journey with her. “I’m having a religious experience,” one tells her. This connection is evident at all of her public appearances where she is mobbed by weeping fans. But it was the videos themselves, confessional yet upbeat, that forged such a deep bond between the subject and her following (2.5 million of them plus 2.3 million followers on Instagram), for whom Gigi’s channel provided both succor and balm against their feelings of isolation IRL. “My camera became my therapist and YouTube became my diary,” Gigi says. Her connection to the camera is intimate yet controlled. Gigi’s spirit is sparkly, her heart is pure and her skin is flawless. ![]() ![]() At least she loves Gigi (born Gregory Lazzarato). Minutes into “This Is Everything,” it’s clear that Kopple loves people. In my films, I want to see who people are.” What’s even stronger is she wanted to be who she was. “I love people,” Kopple tells me after ordering some scrambled eggs. Also her voice: It’s like Ann-Margret meets pre-cigarettes Oriana Fallaci. Yet, what is first obvious as Kopple and I embrace as though we are old friends then nestle into our banquette for breakfast, is Kopple’s genuine warmth and sincerity. The film, produced by Gigi’s managers Adam Wescott and Scott Fisher for YouTube Red, is equal parts emotional journey and study of YouTube culture, at times elevating the platform to savior status. “ This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous ,” Kopple’s latest documentary about transgender YouTube megastar Gigi Gorgeous also occupies a stronghold in Kopple’s kindness pantheon. ![]() As she enters Crosby Bar, an elegant lounge inside the Crosby Street Hotel where we’re meeting for breakfast, bringing to mind a moment from her 1974 Oscar-winning documentary “Harlan County, USA”: an older woman, addressing a large crowd of striking coal miners before singing, “Which side are you on?” It captures the essence of the whole film, which is, on some level, the essence of Kopple’s entire oeuvre, including her splashier celebrity profiles : the small steps, the big choices and the neglected narrative of kindness. But maybe she just has that effect on people. Moments after meeting Barbara Kopple, I feel like I have known her my whole life. ![]()
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