Katy Perry: Part of Me

Directors: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz
Time Out rating:

Aside from its take on Katy Perry’s split with husband Russell Brand (it blames her schedule, but mostly him), this concert doc’s most interesting aspect is the way in which the pop star’s image as a human anime character imperfectly lines up with her various past incarnations. Chronicling her California Dreams Tour, Part of Me relentlessly pushes Perry as both cartoonish and family-friendly, then piles on footage of teens singing along to her breakout ode to bisexual experimentation, ‘I Kissed a Girl’ – a reminder that her current public identity is a well-honed, trial-and-error construction. The 3D performance footage is impressively lavish, though the film’s unending idolisation of the amiable singer will quickly exhaust all but the most devoted fans.

Katy Perry: Part of Me plays from September 29-October 5 at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills, Toho Cinemas Shibuya and Ikebukuro Human Trust Cinema