Adrienne

This film is a beautiful tribute to a thoughtful creative artist, mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend. An exploration of life, death, mourning, legacy, and the human spirit. I remember when the news of her death broke in NYC. I remember all the inaccurate conclusions about her death being reported and then the truth seemingly coming out. This film finally put my curiosity and questions about what happened to rest and gave me closure. I loved "Waitress" when I first saw it and introduced it to everyone. Same with the musical. I saw it twice on Broadway and cried both times. Go see it! And watch this. This film celebrates her, while not shying away from the darkness and evil that intruded upon her and ended her life. She created a very touching lasting work about the human condition and that can never be taken away. Rest in Peace sweet soul and God bless her family for facing this head on and sharing their story with the world. Thank you.

Sad and shocked to learn about Shelly's fate all these years later.

I'm not rating this because there's not really anything special about the doco. Technically it's a simple presentation. I see it more as something for fans of Shelly to find out what happened to her. I felt I needed to learn what happened, as I liked her work from the 90s. It doesn't feel right to give it a score out of 10.

Trust is such a classic. Shelly owns her role in that movie. This doco is a fitting tribute, it shows home footage of Adrienne's life, her work and friends. Shelly's daughter seems to have similar voice characteristics to her mother, that crystal clear tone.

For human life to be violently taken that way, is a great shame of society. We have a long way to go. When it's someone like Shelly who is taken, it makes it more important to do something positive in response. I think this doco and the other work in memory of Shelly is that positive response.

As "Adrienne" (2021 release; 98 min.) opens, we see home video footage of a Halloween party in 2006, featuring actress-director Adrienne Shelly and her 2 yr old daughter Sophie. The voice over informs us that shockingly Adrienne would be found dead the very next day, November 1, 2006. We then go to "New York City, May, 2019", where the musical "Waitress", adapted from Adrienne Shelly's last movie released just months after her death, is doing great business on Broadway. At this point we are 10 min into the film.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by Andy Ostroy, husband of Adrienne Shelly. The movie is two things into one: first and foremost, Ostroy wants to pay tribute to Adrienne and at the same time preserve Adrienne's legacy and memory for Sophie (now 17 years old), as a mother, a wife, an actress, a director. Second, Ostroy wants to fully understand what exactly happened that fateful November 1, 2006. I must admit I vaguely recall this happening, but I didn't know much of Adrienne Shelly's body of work. What I wasn't prepared for is the emotional toll of watching this, considering the senseless death of Adrienne. Bottom line: this movie is clearly a labor of love from Ostroy.

"Adrienne" premiered recently on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max, where I caught it the other day. Whether you are a fan who is familiar with Adrienne Shelly or you know know next to nothing about her, as was the case for me, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

I just finished watching this moments ago and I'm still recovering, the tears haven't stopped welling up. This movie came up in the HBO options to stream and I knew nothing else about it. Oddly about a month ago I had the luxury of seeing Rufus Wainwright and Sara Bareilles, two of my favorite singers, perform the song "She Used to be Mine" from the play version of Waitress that felt overly emotional even though I didn't know the song or what it was about or from. I of course had seen and loved the movie, but had no clue it had ever become a musical/play. Cut to today when HBO recommends this documentary, I have no idea it's about the woman who wrote and directed such a lovely memorable movie. The unfairness of it all was not lost on me. She was murdered at the age of 40, oddly the same age her father was when he passed and left her behind to fear an early death. Yet her voice lives on and her project did what she wanted and she was able to find her happiness before going, which somehow feels like the only justice you'll get for watching this devastating doc. It's true you can never know a person from seeing them on tv or in interviews or through stories about them. This still made me care nearly as much about her loss as her closest supporters. What happened to her could happen to anyone and it's a travesty. This was really well put together and had a lot of funny and tender moments as well, not just sadness. It definitely made me want to go back and watch Waitress again to better appreciate her magnum opus. Hopefully her daughter can watch this many times when she's missing her as I wish I could with my aunt/mother figure who passed too soon.

This love-letter by Adrienne Shelly's widower is heartfelt and well-constructed. It got some poor reviews by people who are focused on their own tragedies. I lost someone very close to me only six months ago, but I assure you I'm able to judge this film on its own merits.

The film is a bit self-indulgent in terms of (uneven) pacing and run-time. While I'm sure Mr. Ostroy had good reasons for including all the historical footage that he did (and I'm just some random jerk), I believe that slightly more aggressive editing would have helped.

There is a spooky moment about 40 minutes in; it caught my attention. There is also a moment near the end, in an interview with the (very strong) daughter, that for me was so sad and genuine, it was like a dagger to the heart.

I rate this thoughtful and evocative film at eight (8) stars. RIP Adrienne; you are missed.