Some people will do anything for fame. In today’s reality-entertainment saturated world, it was only a matter of time before someone like Noemi Zeigler would burst onto the scene. Noemi Zeigler aka Madeline Minx of the synth-techno-pop (I think that’s what it is, hey, I’m no music critic) band Pushy, documents her own quest for fame by any means necessary. She attempts to pursue a career along the lines of Madonna. But according to a booking manager who attends her show, Pushy’s lyrics are “not mainstream enough”, and her Madonna-inspired choreography comes off less like “Blond Ambition” and more like “mescaline art rock meets perverted porn.” Nice. We’re treated to footage of her in a college play right alongside Charlie’s Angel star Lucy Liu. And in a random moment when Noemi is talking to herself in the mirror in a bathroom at the Sundance Film Festival, she runs into Courtney Love. This becomes a critical moment in the doc – Noemi meets her idol. That footage is analyzed by Noemi like it contains the secrets of the universe. Hell, it might.
Oftentimes, Noemi is holding the camera and pointing it directly at herself or pointing it toward the mirror. This uncomfortably personal documentary reveals a warts-and-all look at what some will do for fame. The bizarre thing about all this, is that this unflattering look at the subject, is actually being shot by the subject itself. It’s odd, and it works beautifully. Noemi is her own critic, psychiatrist and documentarian. We even become privy to intimate conversations between Noemi and her mother who wisely encourages her to quit this fruitless pursuit and get a real job. In fact, at some point during the doc, we see her at one of these aimless jobs. For audiences, this is sheer entertainment. For Noemi, well, I’m not sure what it is. Her portrait is neither self-aggrandizing or a good promotional vehicle for the band Pushy. (The band is promoted on her site with such clever slogans as “Eat Pushy.” I get it.)
What’s so unnerving yet captivating about Noemi’s film is the depths to which she will go not only for fame, but to document her relentless quest. Noemi gets in her own head exploring herself better than the average doc. Isn’t that what a great doc is supposed to do?
