A One Mann’s Movies review of “Melania”. (2026, 2*, PG).
“Melania”, streaming on Prime Video, is a difficult film to review. My whole body and soul really wants to give it half a star, just because of my utter dislike for the Orange Mussolini and everything he stands for. But I have tried to be level-headed and rate it purely as a documentary about a subject.
Even on that basis though, this really didn’t rate highly with me.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
We follow Melania Trump over a period of 20 days leading up to the 2025 presidential inauguration.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: PG. (From the BBFC website: “Mild bad language, upsetting scenes, brief sexual violence references”.)
Talent:
Directed by: Brett Ratner.
Running Time: 1h 44m.
Review:
Positives:
- You *do* get an insight into how Melania spends her time and the conditions she lives in. But that seems to be a fairly shallow existence in a highly gilded cage. I had to question what US viewers would think about the thousands of dollars it must have cost to deliver Melania’s whim of having the Slovenian flag etched into all of the White House crystal glasses. (Although I guess the same could be directed at some of the opulent spending of the UK Royal Family.)
- She comes across as quite an intelligent and political animal. I’ve no doubt that she (along with her competent team around her) actually did deliver a lot of positive changes to, for example, womens’ rights, as listed before the end credits.
- (This is in stark contrast to her husband, who just comes across as a complete prat. Trump has a declining approval rating, just 36% as of today according to the tracking of The Economist. But even seeing his appearances in this documentary, before he even started his demolition job on the USA’s reputation around the world, it make me flabbergasted that as many as 36% of Americans think he is anything other than a narcissistic moron.)
Negatives:
- As above, the impression it leaves is of a pretty vacuous existence. It’s at the very shallow end of the documentary pool.
- An inordinate amount of time is spent watching her being fitted for dresses for the inauguration. Like, a LOT of time. All to the soundtrack of some very annoying tinkly music.
- The needle drops in the documentary are just SO random that I’m afraid I dissolved into giggles as each one gets played. There are some really bizarre and ill-fitting choices. These include: Paul Greenwood’s “Barbara Rose” from “Phantom Thread” (an use unauthorised by Jonny Greenwood, who had the contractual right to veto); Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” (twice!); Aretha Franklin’s “Amazing Grace”; the Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter”; Boney M’s “Sunny”; Elvis’s “An American Trilogy”; Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (OK, which is kind of appropriate) and perhaps most jarring of all, “Chase” from the soundtrack of “Midnight Express”.
- Bits of the documentary feel scripted… Melania’s purring “Here we go again” to the camera at the inauguration, for example.
Summary Thoughts:
It’s a pretty cringy documentary at times, but I don’t believe it deserves a complete panning. The purpose of a documentary is to shine a light onto an aspect of society that you have no insight of. And this documentary at least does that, even if the view is pretty tasteless.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tr-TsrOoqQ.
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