1/10
Online, Melania is marketed as a documentary following Melania Trump during the 20 days leading up to her husband’s second inauguration. The movie is directed by Brad Lander, director of the Rush Hour series, whose Hollywood career has largely been put on hold following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Although officially labeled a documentary, Melania chooses to call this a “creative experience,” one that barely resembles a traditional documentary at all. There are no interviews, no outside voices, and no real reporting. It’s just plain Melania. The story is told via narration (a Melania voiceover), making the storyline feel like a facade, designed exclusively for the public eye. Reports say that the documentary was extremely expensive to make and promote, with Amazon MGM Studios reportedly spending around $40 million just to acquire the rights and about $35 million on advertising. Yet at our theater showing, it was just us and one other ticketholder. Nobody wants to go to the theater to see a movie anymore. What a shame.
Melania is so emotionally empty, completely structurally off-putting, and just plain boring. It fails to reveal anything meaningful about the First Lady, feels completely unnecessary, and consists mostly of M. Trump philosophizing endlessly about absolutely nothing. I mean, who signed up for that.
The film loosely follows Melania as she prepares for public appearances, tries on outfits, walks through empty luxury spaces, and reflects on her past. Oh, and did we mention she tries on outfits? Much of her narration focuses on her mother and her son, although neither relationship is explored beyond vague commentary about how truly “beloved” and “saintly” they are. Strangely, her relationship with Donald Trump is barely examined, despite being the most well-known part of her life. There is no real narrative, no emotional turning point, and no reward. The movie simply drifts into oblivion until it ends.
Melania Trump is definitely hard to watch. Her screen presence feels flat and emotionally blank (knock, knock, is anybody home). The film reveals almost nothing about her personality, values, or daily life, except that Melania loved her mom. The lack of depth makes it nearly impossible to empathize with her or even feel somewhat curious about her. Even attempts at warmth or humor feel forced, as if someone is standing behind the camera holding a piece of paper that reads, “cue laugh.”
Moments like the “Billie Jean” scene only make Melania feel more out of touch. In the scene, while in a car, the cameramen ask Melania what her favorite song is, and she says that it’s “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson, so, of course, they play it. She half-sings along, but it quickly becomes clear she doesn’t know the lyrics beyond repeating “Billie Jean” and “son.” She awkwardly smiles as Michael Jackson sings one of music’s most recognizable lines, mouthing along with her own made-up words. The cameraman in the background sings louder and more accurately than she does. It feels more performative and awkward than relatable and quirky. Though it is endlessly hilarious.
Melania’s writing (and we do say writing) itself relies heavily on long voiceovers over clips where Melania is shown walking around endlessly, which quickly becomes annoying. Her booming voiceover feels more like an airport announcement than an emotional confession. The pacing drags on so long that Melania could very likely have completed a marathon. Being the First Lady feels like a super interesting job, but by Melania’s account, it seems to involve absolutely nothing (and a lot of walking).
Visually, the movie feels oddly amateur. The camera shakes, the footage looks like it’s filmed by one guy, and the cameraman sometimes even talks to Melania on-screen, breaking the fourth wall constantly. It feels more like the home movies kids make on iMovie on their mom’s iPad. The strange retro filter applied to clips of their choosing cheapens the look rather than adding depth, giving the entire project a low-effort appearance.
The most outrageous part of Melania is the gap between the values Melania “promotes” versus the reality of her husband’s administration currently. She talks about being an immigrant, the American Dream, unity, and human rights, but in the year since the documentary was made, the Trump administration has seemed to forget these things exist. In that sense, the movie feels like a last, low-effort attempt by Trump’s branding team to pretend to care about principles they don’t even follow, making it all the more strange.
There’s really nothing to like about Melania. It fails on nearly every level of what makes a movie a movie. It doesn’t offer insight, emotional depth, political relevance, or even some sort of drama. The only question it raises is, why was this even made? Is it a cash grab? A PR stunt? Propaganda for Trump? Literally, the only highlights of Melania are the occasional moments where her awkwardness becomes unintentionally funny. It all just feels so pointless.
