Pop rocks – Katy Perry: Part of Me review

Katy Perry: Part of Me – Starring Katy Perry. Directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. Rated PG. By Jess Lomas.

In what can only be described as an explosion of colour and catchy pop tunes, Katy Perry: Part of Me is full of spirit, teenage dreams, hit songs, and inspiration. Following on from the success of Justin Bieber’s 3-D concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and Michael Jackson’s This Is It, viewers are treated to an all access pass to Katy’s California Dreams tour; spanning one year, 124 performances, countless costume and wig changes, and one heart-breaking divorce.

The documentary charts Perry’s rise to fame; the struggles of emerging from a strict Christian upbringing; and bouncing from one record company to another until she hit the big time with her single I Kissed A Girl, spliced with concert clips and on the road footage.

For a Perry fan it’s a dream come true; from meeting the team behind the superstar, who perfect her signature costumes and makeup, to her sister, who helps with the meet and greets and choosing fans to dance onstage. The concerts are captured exquisitely in 3-D, placing the cinema audience in the best seats in the house, highlighting the unique visual style of Perry’s show and proving the merits of the often debated resurgence of the use of the technology.

For the uninitiated Katy Kats, the picture is an engaging and high energy insight into the pop star’s world, revealing Perry to be an extremely down to earth, funny, and likeable celebrity. With directors Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz (both producers on Justin Bieber: Never Say Never) in control, we see a glimpse of a raw Perry only briefly, as exhaustion and the collapse of her marriage finally taking their toll. In a highly emotive scene, her ability to perform that night is briefly questioned before she puts on her trademark smile, overcomes her personal challenges, and ascends to the stage to perform for her fans.

Interviews with friends and family, as well as vintage recordings of Perry aged eighteen, add weight to this character study, but it is Perry’s grandmother who almost steals the movie with her biting wit and no nonsense answers.

Katy Perry: Part of Me is lightweight as a biography, skimming over events and blurring the details of her divorce with actor Russell Brand, but Perry is wholeheartedly forthcoming with her emotions throughout, revealing her childlike outlook on the world and heaping praise on the fans that made her dreams come true.

3.5/5

Katy Perry: Part of Me is now showing in cinemas.