I Am Divine (2013)

I Am Divine

• Trailblazer. Icon. Most beautiful woman alive. Obviously, I’m talking about Divine, who is possibly the greatest human to have ever been birthed. I recently got really into John Waters and his work, and of the films I’ve seen, most of them have Divine in some sort of role. So after seeing Waters’ more mainstream (or in this case, underground?) films, I was so invested and mystified by Divine’s life and persona. Then I discovered this documentary, which is currently streaming on Tubi, and I impulse watched it. Though it’s a very average documentary in some ways, it also does a great job of displaying the underground films and performances that Divine delivered. From a technical aspect, the film feels very made-for-TV, and the production was a bit generic. Not that that’s a bad thing, it just doesn’t stick out as being a phenomenal film. It mainly consists of archival/film footage of Divine, with interviews of his friends and family. It tells his life from a (mostly) linear perspective, from birth until death. There’s no crazy visuals or twists or anything groundbreaking. However, it offers some really cool and intriguing insight on Divine’s life, as well as the physical production behind some of Waters’ films. Some of the past Dreamlanders share their memories on who Divine was, as well as Waters himself. All the events and milestones of Divine’s life are told in a quick manner, and the pacing is pretty good for this kind of documentary. And that’s really about all there is to say. Divine was a brilliant, flamboyant, counter-culture icon who paved the way for many drag queens and performers that followed him, and this documentary does  a good job of presenting it. I would recommend it to any person who needs to see an uplifting story about queerness and being exactly who you need to be. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!