Screen Savor: Stories in song

Fantasia (Barrino) is not an actress. However, that didn't stop the season three (2004) American Idol champ from playing herself as a teen and adult in The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life is Not a Fairytale (Lifetime) the Lifetime movie based "in part" on her autobiography. Directed by Debbie Allen, who makes a cameo appearance in the 2006 movie (now on DVD), Life is Not a Fairytale is pure Lifetime.

Opening during Fantasia's controversial competition on the Fox talent show, when she was being plagued by "internet stuff" regarding her unmarried teen mother status, Life is Not a Fairytale quickly shifts into flashback mode. Young Fantasia (singer/actress Jamia Simone Nash) lives with her parents, nurse Diane (Viola Davis!) and musician Joe (Kadeem Hardison). Fantasia, her parents and brothers sing in the High Point, NC Baptist church where grandmother Addie (Loretta Devine) is the minister.

Of course the church walls are not strong enough to contain little Fantasia's talent. Discovered by a local record exec, Fantasia and family are offered a recording contract that soon sours. Meanwhile, ugly duckling is bullied at school. Without a shred of self-confidence (thanks mom and dad!), by her teen years Fantasia is an easy mark for the school studs looking to take advantage of such a girl. Before you can say cherry, she's given up her virginity to Rodney (Chico Benymon) who promptly ignores her. But after she is raped at school by Dwayne (Norman Nixon Jr.) and drops out, Rodney mans up and they become a couple.

That bliss is short lived, following the birth of daughter Zion. Rodney is abusive and irresponsible. She is reduced to shoplifting formula and disposable diapers. Fanstasia has enough and kicks Rodney to the curb. With no good future in sight, Fantasia travels to Atlanta to audition for American Idol (even that trip is plagued by drama) and makes it to the next round in Hollywood. The rest is modern day musical history as Fantasia ignores the naysayers, triumphs on TV and even manages to find love. Life is Not a Fairytale is a fairly straightforward story of overcoming the odds (a Lifetime standard) that would have benefited from an actress in the lead, especially in the company of Davis and Devine. DVD has no bonus material.

Was Katy Perry ever as insecure as Fantasia? It doesn't appear that way from watching Katy Perry: The Movie – Part of Me (Paramount). Following Perry on her 350+ day 2011 world tour, the film is a combination concert movie and personal documentary. If you weren't already a Perry fan, Part of Me probably won't do much for you in that department.

What the movie does best is fill in some blanks. For those who think it might be too soon for this multi-platinum diva, with only two full-length discs to her name, to be the topic of such a project, Part of Me provides the back-story. From her roots in the CCM (contemporary Christian music) scene to her failed attempts at secular artistry (at Columbia Records, and not surprisingly at Island/Def Jam), the doc makes it clear that Perry was not an overnight sensation. But when she hit, she hit big, selling millions of copies of her CDs and breaking all sorts of records, including having five (!) number one singles from one album.

The movie makes an attempt to address a range of matters, including her relationship with the LGBT community. With her CCM background and being the daughter of a Pentecostal preacher, songs of Perry's such as "I Kissed A Girl" (not to be confused with the superior Jill Sobule songs of the same name) and "Ur So Gay," could be misconstrued as offensive. Part of Me illuminates another side of Perry, where she is surrounded by gay men, including stylist Johnny Wujek and makeup artist Todd Delano, not to mention of hordes of LGBT fans, all of whom she values.

Bursting with interview subjects, including Adele, songwriter/producer Glenn Ballard, photog Mark Hunter, managers Bradford Cobb and Steve Jensen, Perry's family members, and Perry herself, among others, the movie at times borders on being a self-promotion device. Things get particularly suspect when Perry's short-lived marriage to comedian Russell Brand begins to unravel, becoming the uncomfortable focus. Does she stop the cameras? No, true professional that she is, she soldiers on, multi-colored wigs, warts and all. Blu-ray special features on the double disc Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy edition include full concert performances of "Last Friday Night" and Waking Up in Vegas," and much more.