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- Lifetime
- Jan 28, 2022
- Lifetime
- Jan 28, 2022
Summary The four-hour, two-night documentary about the life and career of Janet Jackson airs on both Lifetime and A&E.
- Lifetime
- Jan 28, 2022
- Lifetime
- Jan 28, 2022
Summary The four-hour, two-night documentary about the life and career of Janet Jackson airs on both Lifetime and A&E.
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Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
59
33% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
58% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 Critic Reviews
59
33% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
58% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The documentary’s real coup is the archive material Jackson and director Ben Hirsch pull from a decade’s worth of home videos shot by her ex-husband, music video director René Elizondo Jr. ... Jackson is ultimately in charge of the documentary’s candour, but she frequently uses her friends, family and colleagues to speak for her.
“Janet Jackson.” is a no-frills, straightforward documentary and justifiably so, as Jackson’s story makes for riveting drama without any unnecessary directorial flourishes. Janet comes across as thoughtful, passionate, warmhearted and open.
Janet’s talent and career are certainly deserving of close examination and celebration, but they prove almost impossible to disentangle from the fact that while she was one of the biggest stars of her pop era, her sibling was arguably the biggest and most controversial star in pop history.
The four-hour documentary special (of which critics received the first two episodes) is a work of uneven personal storytelling, an attempt by the legendary star to wrest control of her narrative from the grips of public discourse.
“Janet Jackson” is a sanctioned documentary with the feel of a YouTube news clip aggregation. Jackson is interviewed extensively, but largely provides play-by-play, rarely color commentary.
For now, Jackson remains fascinating but enigmatic — a star about whom we’ll perpetually want to know more. And viewers will have known that before investing the time in a doc that can’t quite figure out its namesake.
Jackson’s iron grip on “Janet Jackson” has produced an initial two chapters that are feather-light on revelations. That first half is an authorized autobiography in the worst way: empty, glossy, bloated and wholly indifferent to what other people might find interesting about its subject.
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