Melania Parent Guide

It’s rare that a documentary receives wall-to-wall press coverage, but Melania has been heavily reviewed. And most of those reviews are negative. From The Guardian: “It’s one of those rare, unicorn films that doesn’t have a single redeeming quality.” The Daily Beast chimes in, “Melania is a level of insipid propaganda that almost resists review; it’s so expected and utterly pointless.” And Variety also pans the film: “[I]t’s so orchestrated and airbrushed and stage-managed that it barely rises to the level of a shameless infomercial.”

Is the documentary actually that bad?

No.

Does that mean the movie is good?

Also no.

Melania is less a documentary than the cinematic equivalent of a magazine photo spread: glossy and insubstantial. Over a bloated nearly-two-hour runtime that covers a three-week period prior to President Trump’s second inauguration, we spend a lot of time looking at the back of Melania’s head as she strides from room to room in her four-inch heels. We watch motorcades whisk her to the Trump private jet as she embarks on yet another leg of her peripatetic lifestyle. Then we watch her try on custom-made dresses, discuss plans for formal events, or review the decorating plans for the White House. But in all this screentime, we get little sense of who this woman really is. And isn’t that the point of a biographical documentary?

If you’re thinking of watching Melania to gain a deeper understanding of the First Lady, you’re bound to be disappointed. The only things this doc really tells us are things we already know. Melania loves her clothes crisply tailored and notices the smallest details. She wears four-inch heels everywhere. (And I mean everywhere – she even wears them while watching TV.) Melania is a devoted daughter who mourns her mother’s death. She is also devoted to her son, Barron, and her father. (In fact, the only time her face loses its habitual reserve is when she is speaking to Barron or Viktor: then she beams with warmth and affection.) 

None of these “insights” are worth the movie’s overlong runtime. Not that the subject should be ignored: Melania Trump is one of the most reclusive First Ladies in modern history and a documentary that fleshes out her personality would be fascinating. How did a girl raised in Communist Slovenia wind up as First Lady of the United States? How does her immigrant past affect her feelings about her husband’s policies? Does she have any influence on his policies? How did her modeling career prepare her for her current role? Given her reserved personality, does she find it difficult to hold a position which usually requires frequent public appearances? How does she function within a blended family? Why does she stay in her marriage despite her husband’s widely known history of infidelity? And, on a more trivial note, how does her minimalistic fashion aesthetic coexist with her maximalist, ostentatious décor preferences? 

Seriously, there’s a potentially interesting film to be made about Melania Trump, but this doc isn’t it. Some critics have charged that Melania is propaganda, but given her disinterest in foregrounding partisan politics and the oddly peripheral role Donald Trump plays in the film, I don’t think this movie fits the bill. It feels like a vanity project, and given that Melania produced the movie, it obviously shows her the way she wishes to be seen; no warts, just glossy, gilded finishes. It could even be a launchpad for post-presidency business ventures, building on her existing book, meme-coins, and other merchandise. As a branding exercise, Melania makes sense. As a documentary, not so much.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.