Seen at...
World According to Allee Willis (The)
- Director: Alexis Spraic
- Producer: Nicholas Coles, Mark Cuban, Susan Danziger, Tina Fasbender, Prudence Fenton, Lawrence Mestel, Ashley Reese, Justin Shukat, Lisa Wolofsky
CGiii Comment
Ever heard the one about Icarus? Well, here it is...played out in real life.
Allee Willis...ahead of her time...or, ahead of herself? This film will help you decide which one - she certainly crashed and burned, picked herself up and bounced back again...to her credit. And, the litany of talking heads duly pile on the praise, at times, exhaustingly so.
This is her public profile, very little of her personal life is revealed...apart from the fact that she lived in a superficial closet, banning public displays of affection by her long-time partner. It's a case of what went on behind closed doors, will stay behind those doors...forever. Not exactly the palate for a fully-fledged portrait. Plus, all those interviewed seemed guarded in what they were saying and they all really said the same thing...she was fabulous and, silently, mind your own business.
Outré is the perfect word to describe this over-confident, over-stepping, over-energised woman...ADHD comes to mind. But...not a mention of whether [or not] she had footfall in one [or more] of the various spectrums that exist today. It would explain a lot.
Anyway...it was good to meet you Ms Willis, although the fame you yearned for was an elusion, now we can put a face to the name, your legacy is rock solid. Rest assured.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Take one look at award-winning songwriter / artist Allee Willis and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, her signature asymmetrical haircut and famed parties at her real-life Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms.
She buried herself in her work, until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece - self-acceptance.
Allee began filming her life in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. This film is the realization of her wish that her “final art piece be someone putting together the trail I have left behind.”
Cast & Characters
Pamela Adlon
Cyndi Lauper
Lily Tomlin
Paul Reubens
Julie Brown (as Self)
Patti LaBelle
Michael Patrick King
Stan Zimmerman (as Self)
Pet Shop Boys
Brenda Russell (as Self)
Stephen Bray (as Self)
Mark Mothersbaugh
Paul Feig
Mark Cuban