★★
While crafting his Grammy-nominated album "Astroworld", Travis Scott juggles controversy, fatherhood and career highs in this intimate documentary.
Classification: 15
More of a conceited concert vlog than personal documentary, Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly is a very controlled manager approved look into the life of the musician's milestones of the last two years. Directed by White Trash Tyler who also has directed many of Scott's music videos, his handling of the documentary is just like a member of the entourage, all hype and no scrutiny. Cobbling together clips of music recordings, concert footage and then tacking in-home movies of Scott as a child to try and give a sense of growth and development to his own journey to fame. The impression it gives is a desperate attempt to make Travis Scott stand apart from every other success story in the music industry but makes the argument with little success. Except for showing the rabid passion of his fanbase and vice versa, nothing about Travis Scott seems notable for a documentary as the runtime consists of an already successful musician gaining more success.
Tyler's direction gives the documentary a structure, using a series of milestones to showcase Scott's continuing success however the way it's displayed is quite shallow. It has a sense that nothing is candid, that even the vulnerable or emotional moments have been planned so that they have the desired effect for the producers. Considering Scott's connections with the Kardashian family, this approach shouldn't be surprising and just makes Look Mom I Can Fly a piece of manipulative media to try and create a mythology around someone who doesn't seem to be all that incredible. That isn't to say that Scott isn't unlikeable, even with emotional manipulation it is clear that Scott is surrounded by loving family and friends and that the man himself is a friendly individual. Whether you like his music or not, Tyler is more focused on showcasing the "message" than anything deeply personal or revealing, highlighting heavily the worshipping, sycophantic behaviour of the fans and how that makes Scott worthwhile than actually tell a story about the man.
The most interesting element of the documentary is barely explored and seems more like a marketing tool to sell Scott's image to the audience. The near rabid love and obsession from his fans, it is clear that the music speaks to its audience with concert footage consisting of screaming fans, crowd surfing and those audience members interacting with Scott like he is their messiah. The relationship between an artist and their fans is an interesting connection especially in modern times with social media creating more direct access but Look Mom I Can Fly just wants to glorify Scott's bond with his fanbase. The film wants to present him as a positive role model through his music and how he connects to them but when most of the clips consist of aggressive, hyperactive individuals screaming into a camera, one could wonder if the effect is 100% positive. The film also wants to highlight elements of Scott's childhood, how his Grammy-nominated album was inspired by a theme park in his youth and how he is adjusting to fatherhood. These elements are seen but not explored, there is no real vulnerability on display from any participants, nothing real is coming through as it is clear this documentary is nothing more than a vanity project.
It's a documentary with nothing to say or nothing of real value to say, its a glorified commercial for a musician who thinks his success somehow makes him unique. Towards the end of the documentary, Tyler shows Scott and his entourage handling Grammy nominations and the 2019 Superbowl halftime performance. While the film has the briefest moment of Scott being insecure of his losses, it is re-manipulated to not make it seem like a man upset losing an award but into a moment for him to teach his fans about life's struggles. Everything is taken and warped to serve the narrative and to sell the brand, Scott's not winning a grammy is presented as a struggle and overcoming obstacles to his fanbase, furthering inspiring their devotion to him. There is no real struggle present in Look Mom I Can Fly, the milestones presented in the runtime are all happy ones and one of triumph even the halftime show which was considered as one of the worst of all time is presented as an overwhelming success. No aftermath from press or fan response present, just images of Scott hugging his proud father and cutting to another home movie.
Scott himself may not be an egotistical vain sociopath who needs all negative elements stripped from his life but the people who handle his career definitely are. White Trash Tyler does a fine job making sure his place in the entourage is secure but an abysmal job of creating a film with anything worthwhile to say. Nothing about Scott is unique from any other success story in the music industry, one day he wasn't famous now he is. Fans of his music may find the documentary more enthralling than the layman but besides the few snippets of the work and passion put into the music and shows there isn't much to latch onto. Its more interesting components either are accidental or unintentional, no real critical filmmaking is taking place just a smoothed down, uninteresting visual slideshow trying to give depth to something that has had all genuine feeling stripped from it.
Director: #WhiteTrashTyler
Cast: #TravisScott
Release Date: August 28th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix.
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from Netflix
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