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Mary J. Blige's My Life

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Mary J. Blige's My Life

R

2021

1h 22m

Documentary

Music

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Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

15 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Nine-time Grammy®-winning recording artist and Academy Award nominated singer and actress Mary J. Blige set the music world on fire with her trailblazing 1994 LP "My Life," a collection of powerful confessionals about her battles with abuse, depression and addiction that forged a profound and enduring connection with millions of fans around the globe. In Oscar®-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth's documentary Mary J. Blige's My Life, the singer, producer and actress reveals the demons and blessings that inspired the record and propelled her from the soul-crushing world of New York's housing projects to international stardom. In the process, she celebrates the 25th anniversary of her most influential work by performing the album live for the first time.

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Brad Newsome

Sydney Morning Herald

This new documentary is utterly riveting as Blige recalls a childhood marked by violence and abuse in a grim New York housing project, and how she emerged with deep psychological issues unprepared for the success of her debut album.

Jul 15, 2021

Full Review

Aramide Tinubu

NBC News THINK

With "My Life," Blige saved herself -- and reminded her fans their selves were worth saving as well

Jun 28, 2021

Full Review

Simran Hans

Observer (UK)

We never really get a sense of where she's been, let alone My Life's musical and cultural context.

Rated: 2/5

Jun 28, 2021

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Celluloid Dreams

Despite its best intentions a surface-level puff piece--a feature-length commercial lacking in depth with platitudes substituting for insights.

Rated: 1/4

Jul 18, 2021

Full Review

Adonis Gonzalez

The Young Folks

The openness of Blige's music describes the crux of both the album and the documentary commemorating it, as that connection between herself and her fans is what's made her career so enduring.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 2, 2021

Full Review

DarkSkyLady

DarkSkyLady Reviews

Mary J. Blige's My Life is honest. Even though It may not go into specifics of the bad parts of Mary J. Blige's past, that's because it wasn't and never was about that.

Jul 2, 2021

Full Review

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Sashay W

I felt both movies were good however, why did Mary have to talk at EVERY commercial? I wanted to stop watching on the first movie. We didn't need a lesson Mary. Just 2 1/2 stars. Sorry, not sorry 😐

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/18/23

Full Review

tom m

Meh. Another vanity piece. I was mostly unaware of her story, so I guess I learned something.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Truly truthful and real.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

Audience Member

'Toothless interviews with her celebrity friends and colleagues. Stopped watching after 30 minutes'

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Why do these celebrities feel the need to bore us with a story about them. Do we really need this? No we don't.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Vanessa Roth

Director

Mary J. Blige

Self

Taraji P. Henson

Self

Alicia Keys

Self

Diddy

Self

Mary J. Blige

Executive Producer

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Mary J. Blige's My Life: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Nine-time Grammy®-winning recording artist and Academy Award nominated singer and actress Mary J. Blige set the music world on fire with her trailblazing 1994 LP "My Life," a collection of powerful confessionals about her battles with abuse, depression and addiction that forged a profound and enduring connection with millions of fans around the globe. In Oscar®-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth's documentary Mary J. Blige's My Life, the singer, producer and actress reveals the demons and blessings that inspired the record and propelled her from the soul-crushing world of New York's housing projects to international stardom. In the process, she celebrates the 25th anniversary of her most influential work by performing the album live for the first time.

Director: Vanessa Roth
Producer: Ashaunna K. Ayars, Q. Nicole Jackson
Production Co: Amazon Studios, Blue Butterfly Productions
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 25, 2021
Runtime: 1h 22m

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