Having been a cornerstone of American life and a model of the domestic ideal, Martha Stewart was sentenced to prison for trading violations. Not appealing her conviction (and thus sending the price of her company stock rising) she was to spend 5 months in jail in West Virginia surely the end of her all-American role as domestic goddess? In order to understand this person more and get a feel for why she is so important and influential and how the conviction will affect her position, Jamie Campbell travelled to America and moved into a trailer park opposite her jail. While talking to fans and critics about Stewart he also tries to live his life in the way that Stewart's books, magazines TV shows etc have presented as the domestic model for American families.
Warning: this review contains namedropping! I once met Jamie Campbell while he was making one of his earlier films and indeed in "Don't Panic" I saw potential in him if only he could get past the constant relapses into juvenile joking. With this film he jumped from graveyard channel 4 to being all over the UK papers and TV guides with this topical film that takes a much more grown-up approach to an interesting subject. This is not to say that it isn't funny and entertaining, because it is but just that it never resorts to childish mocking of the subjects to try and get a laugh. Instead the film takes the Louis Theroux "wide-eyed innocent" approach that draws trust from the subjects thus getting their guard down, while the narration and approach allows gentle mocking.
In this film Campbell gives us a potted history of Stewart's rise and fall although fall is perhaps too strong a word to use in reference to a 5 month stay in a sort of country club, only to exit to book and TV deals and even more money. This works well as not many in the UK will be that familiar with her but suffice to say she is like Delia Smith to a factor of a hundred. The film (fairly) brings out that she has made a fortune off selling an idealistic dream of the "proper" life to her fans mostly, it must be said, poorer white people. We see this in many ways but mainly it is seen in the tacky and rather tasteless way that Campbell's trailer is decked out as She would have liked it looks like mutton dressed as lamb, as do many of the homes and decorations. However despite this, she is very popular even if we take the people interviewed as extremes her billion-dollar fortune can be taken as a hint of how popular she is. The film is best when it is sweeping and general because it works well as a look at America, celebrity and the American Dream. As the film becomes more focused on Martha in particular it became a little less interesting simply because I knew little of her but even then the film had done enough acquainting me with her to keep me interested.
Campbell is handsome and suave enough to carry all this off although he cannot totally shake the air of a rather smug public schoolboy, stopping him taking Theroux's crown because Theroux is much more unassuming and even more naïve. He shows the talent he showed with Estelle Morris in "Don't Panic" without spoiling it by being childish (as he was ultimately was with Morris in the same film). His subjects are fairly broad and Campbell seems to bond with them well while also hanging them and their beliefs out to dry. A tad cruel perhaps but, like Theroux, he comes off looking like he is entirely innocent in the whole process. His close call with Martha shows that he has the good fortune to go with his talent and it makes a good conclusion to the film.
Overall an enjoyable film that is much better than Campbell's other films to date. The Louis Theroux approach (and the BBC clout) gives him greater success while also, I suspect, suppressing the childish side of some of his material thus far. Worth seeing for several reason even if you're not familiar with Stewart and certainly a must for those who are missing Theroux's presence on television.
