What comes to mind when Lady Gaga is mentioned? It might be images of her dressed in the most flamboyant fashion while dodging paparazzi during the early stages of her career. Or maybe even a more intimate and stripped-down side that we were all introduced to last year with the release of “Joanne,” an album that combines Gaga’s family history with a country, dance-pop sound. In the Netflix documentary, “Gaga: Five Foot Two,” we see Gaga as Stefani Germanotta, a 30-year-old woman from New York who is not afraid of being blunt.
“Gaga: Five Foot Two” takes place from the recordings of her latest album to her Super Bowl halftime performance earlier this year. Within the span of those months, we see a much more intimate look into her life with the many highs and the many lows in the life of Gaga, the artist, and Stefani, the woman.
The first shot of Gaga we see is of her in her Malibu house feeding her dogs and cooking with her family, already proving just how relatable she is. From there we see her along with fellow musician Mark Ronson recording songs like “Million Reasons,” “A-YO” and “Hey Girl.” One of the most emotional moments comes when Gaga plays the song “Joanne” for her grandmother and father after looking through old family pictures and keepsakes, especially from Joanne Germanotta, Gaga’s late aunt. It was moments like this that truly show the inspiration behind everything she had been working toward and how dearly she holds her family.
Celebrities are typically thought of as having glamourous lifestyles, and, of course, Lady Gaga is no exception. However, as Gaga said herself “we’ve seen me fucking glamorous for almost 10 years, it’s boring.” There were certainly moments in the documentary that were not glamorous, such as her struggle with fibromyalgia, shown through moments of her feeling intense pain throughout her entire body while in tears at the thought of appearing pathetic. As we have learned recently, this has been the reason why she had to cancel the rest of her tour.
Yet it’s in this vulnerability that we see a more human side to Lady Gaga that might not have been seen until recently. We see this when meeting with a young fan from New Jersey. It was an emotional moment for both of them when they sat down and talked, as opposed to the swarm of paparazzi that would do anything for a picture. As she said in many interviews, it was all about becoming more personal with her fans through this album and documentary.
Any Lady Gaga fan — or music fan in general — would definitely love this documentary. “Gaga: Five Foot Two” showcases every aspect of an artist’s approach to their craft, from recording to rehearsing and then performing.
The documentary is now available on Netflix.
