June 23, 2021 (2021-06-23) (New York City premiere)
June 25, 2021 (2021-06-25)
Running time
82 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Mary J. Blige's My Life is a 2021 American documentary film about the musical career of American recording artist Mary J. Blige directed by Vanessa Roth. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of her 1994 studio album My Life, the film was released on June 25, 2021, on Amazon Prime Video.
In December 2019, Amazon Studios and Entertainment One announced a documentary film on Mary J. Blige.[5][6] The film was produced by Amazon Studios in collaboration with Blige's production company Blue Butterfly.[7] It was directed by Vanessa Roth, with Blige serving as executive producer.[8] The film also features music composed by Mervyn Warren.[9]
The film received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.6/10.[13]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[14]
Johnny Loftus of Decider stated that it "celebrates the lasting influence of an incredible album" while also highlighting "the singer and songwriter’s profound struggle for wellness".[15] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Ordona praised the film for "its fan testimonials of the album’s impact and Blige’s emotional recollections of the songs' roots."[16] Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com described the film as "fortuitously (providing) a love letter to Blige’s fans that teems with the same truthful message as the singer's best music".[17] In a review for Variety, Andrew Barker wrote that "as a fan-centric retrospective, (the film) hits plenty of the right notes; but as a chance to more thoroughly explore a complicated, still-influential landmark, it never digs quite deeply enough."[18]
