Little Richard: I Am Everything
“Little Richard: I Am Everything critiques the star’s Christian evangelism, which strikes an unexpected note in these types of biodocs.”
Title: Little Richard: I Am Everything (2023)
Director: Lisa Cortés 👩🏾🇺🇸
Producers: Lisa Cortés 👩🏾🇺🇸, Liz Marsh 👩🏼🇺🇸, Caryn Capotosto 👩🏼🇺🇸 , and Robert Friedman 👨🏼🇺🇸
Reviewed by Murtada Elfadl 👨🏽🇸🇩🇺🇸🌈
Technical: 4/5
Pioneering rock and roll legend Little Richard gets the biopic treatment in Little Richard: I Am Everything, a fun and joyous documentary. Director Lisa Cortés weaves the man’s life into the cultural story of mid-20th-century America to deliver a film that’s both intellectual and a good time at the movies.
The fun comes from Richard himself—his exuberance, his big personality, and his joie de vivre. Watching archival interviews and performances in quick succession makes the audience realize what a star he was. His lively spirit is juxtaposed with the testimony of Black and queer scholars, contextualizing his legacy and what he brought to American culture.
Cortés takes all these elements and adds contemporary re-imaginings of some of Richard’s early songs with their original racy and queer lyrics intact. In the latter part of the film, Cortés does not hold back from showcasing Richard’s Christian evangelism and denouncement of his queer identity, including some criticism from the scholars on camera (and implicitly from the filmmakers themselves). That’s an unexpected note in these types of biodocs, which are usually mostly hagiographic.
Gender: 4/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES
While the subject of the film is a man, Little Richard: I Am Everything is directed by a woman and the talking heads are gender-balanced. The film also shines the light on Richard’s early inspirational artists, some of whom include women like Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Race: 5/5
Among the many stories that Little Richard: I Am Everything tells, the whitewashing of American pop music might be the strongest thread. In testimonies from historians and scholars, and through archival footage, the film evidences Little Richard’s pioneer status in rock and roll and how his—and many other Black artists’—work has been stolen and re-recorded with white artists. Without Richard, Cortés calls out, there would be no Elvis.
Bonus for LGBTQ: +1.00
The film presents Little Richard in all his queer glory, from his groundbreaking talk show appearances in the 1960s while being unabashedly gay to his dynamic and flamboyant stage performances. There’s even footage of him in drag.
A memorable part of the film explores the origins of the lyrics to “Tutti Frutti,” perhaps his most famous song. Originally about sex between two men, the lyrics were scandalous and overtly queer. (“Tutti Frutti, good booty.”) After pressure from the recording industry, Richard and his collaborators came up with the nonsensical change, “oh rooty.” The documentary goes on to reveal the queer genesis of other cultural milestones, of stories and people who were kept away from the limelight.
Mediaversity Grade: A- 4.67/5
An enjoyable documentary, Little Richard: I Am Everything derives its strength from placing the pioneering story of its subject within a detailed cultural and historical context.
Like Little Richard: I Am Everything? Try these other films that showcase queer musicians.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
KOKOMO CITY (2023)
Rocketman (2019)