Wish Me Away

2011

1h 36m

Documentary

LGBTQ+

List

93%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Determined to live a lie no longer, acclaimed country singer Chely Wright comes out as a lesbian in 2010.

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Carmen Rios

Autostraddle

Wright came out, first and foremost, to live an honest life. We have no choice but to commend her on it after the film, once we've already watched her cry and lose her temper and lose control.

Jul 13, 2021

Full Review

Serena Donadoni

indieWire

Wish Me Away is most revealing when it counters Nashville's manufactured intimacy with an insider's hard-won honesty.

Rated: B

Nov 1, 2012

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Mark Olsen

Los Angeles Times

Much like the image of Wright presented by the movie itself, "Wish Me Away" is graceful, sincere and heartfelt.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 14, 2012

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

The kind of film that I could write about for hours.

Rated: 4.0/4.0

Sep 27, 2020

Full Review

Clay Cane

BET.com

'Wish Me Away' is not just another doc on coming out; it's a unique story from a brave woman whose truth was more important than fame and glamour.

Rated: B

Jun 1, 2012

Full Review

David Noh

Film Journal International

Worthy if at times heavy-handed doc about the first country-music star to publicly say, "I'm gay."

May 31, 2012

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Audience Member

YES & HOORAY FOR CHELY!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Damn this was so good. So knew what she was feeling.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

this is really good.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lovely, inspiring, tear-jerking documentary about Wright's well-planned coming out, showing her extreme fear and vulnerability and courage. A great film about why coming out is so important and also so hard for some people, especially those from religious backgrounds. Wonderful, graceful, sincere.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Chely Wright is the first American country music star to come out as gay. I'm not a fan of country music, and I had never heard of Chely Wright until I saw this film. What emerges from the film is a portrait of Wright that is inspiring and positive. She seems like a genuine person and a good role model of GLBT youngsters. However, when she begins working with image coaches and turning her coming out into a media event, I found myself less sympathetic to her struggles. I understand her counter-argument -- that coordinating a media spectacle allows her to do the most good for others in her situation -- but I nevertheless wasn't pleased that what I was seeing was such a carefully designed product. Overall, I found the film well-made, and by the end I liked Wright, but that's about all the film asked of me.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

My only real issue, is that she isn't the first country singer to come out.. K.D Lang still counts. However, this isn't the main issue with the film, so doesn't matter.. I knew nothing about her before watching, but still found her story interesting and heartfelt.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

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Bobbie Birleffi

Director

Beverly Kopf

Director

Bobbie Birleffi

Producer

Beverly Kopf

Producer

Rhonda Eiffe

Executive Producer

Richard Bever

Executive Producer

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Critics Consensus: Snow White and the Huntsman Isn’t the Fairest of Them All

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Synopsis

Determined to live a lie no longer, acclaimed country singer Chely Wright comes out as a lesbian in 2010.

Director: Bobbie Birleffi, Beverly Kopf
Producer: Bobbie Birleffi, Beverly Kopf
Production Co: First Run Features
Genre: Documentary, LGBTQ+
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.3K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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