Stormy

Well made, riveting, and an important piece of contemporary history. Bravery of a perfectly imperfect normal human being, rising to a level of bravery and persistent survivalism, that sets her apart and above the fray. In today's quicksand-like morass of gutless money and ego chasing humans, the non pretentious Stephanie Clifford/Stormy Daniels, lands somewhere in between the biblical figures of Tamar, Rahab, and the woman caught inn Adultery, in terms of an unlikely, but actual, human hero, human-in-distress, human being used by others, but continuing to fight and define and redefine where she is at, what are her goals, at each changing chapter in this historical drama unfolding before our eyes. My prayers and admiration for this woman and gratitude to her and the film makers and the honesty of herself and also to her ex-husband musician-guy, who along with Ms. Daniels, show love at both sides of a romance and marriage that both blossomed and then was crushed amidst all this, and the frailty of imperfect human choices evolving through this trial by fire.

If one is looking for a salacious story of a low functioning woman, that is not her. It is a documentary about her life, and when she met Donald, she was already writing and producing, and hoped to make a horror film. Trump dangled the chance to be on Celebrity Apprentice, saying he had the veto-proof right to pick one person to be on the program. It is less about what happened with him than it is how it upended her life. Taken advantage of by male lawyers, at first just insulted, then threatened and stalked, making it almost impossible for her 7 y/o daughter to have a life. When she could not get jobs in the US, she set up a tour in Canada, only to find out that the FBI crime computer had an extensive list of arrests, which never happened. But she lost entry into Canada because of that. More lawsuits, and then the threats became more as death threats of a serious nature. In the end she says she doesn't want Trump to go to prison, but she is willing to go to prison rather than pay the judgment Trump got against her for legal fees. During the height of the Me-too movement, she got a lot of support from woman, but it also took a huge toll on her.

Seeing the events of the time through Stormy Daniels' eyes is truly fascinating and not a little scary. The fear she experienced as a result of the hateful barrage of abuse is palpable. On top of this the dirty tricks from the powerful people she upset are really eye opening.

The film does not editorialize, instead letting the events speak for themselves. Stormy is not portrayed as anything but herself, certainly not as a hero, but as her personal life is slowly torn apart it's hard not to feel sorry for her despite her mistakes. What's clear is that she was abused, and then punished for it, and her family was torn apart by the flak. There are no winners here.

As "Stormy" (2023 release; 110 min.) opens, it is "March 30, 2023" as Trump is criminally indicted for the hush payment made in Fall of 2016 to Stormy Daniels to cover up his affair with her in 2006. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reports on the hush payment, and all hell breaks loose. We then go back in time as we learn of Stormy's troubled youth in Baton Rouge, LA... At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that while of course I am aware of the hush payment and Trump's subsequent lying about it, I was not aware of all the details. Much of the footage in the documentary comes from 2018, detailing with the fallout after the WSJ's report. With Trump's and the White House's machination in full force and effect, it is literally a David v. Goliath battle: the President of the United States v. A porn star. Along the way we get almost unfettered access to what that felt like as it plays out in real life. Check out the media frenzy, and the enormous pressure Stormy faced (and still faces) from the MAGA world. It's absolutely insane. Meanwhile Trump continues to deny, deny, deny. But soon (in mid-April or so) the chickens are coming home to roost for Orange Jesus... Please note that the overall rating of this documentary here in IMDb (currently 5.2 stars) is grossly misleading, as there are hundreds of ratings but less than 10 reviews so far. Almost certainly much of these ratings have come from white trash Let's Go Brandon MAGA folks who have not seen the documentary, and are too dumb to recognize a quality documentary if it hit them in the face. ("Stormy" is currently rated a very respectable 71% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.)

"Stormy" started streaming on Peacock earlier this week, and I caught it last night. I was quite surprised how effective this documentary turned out to be. If you are interested in politics, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

As someone who is totally uncomfortable with what Stormy does for a living and political sex scandals from Clinton to Trump, I was amazed how impressed I was with her resilience as a woman and a mother on every level. She navigated a very difficult childhood and jumped on opportunities that came her way to survive. The unsavory porn business is one thing but that is Trumps world. Trump was friends with Epstein and seducing a 27-year-old Stormy with sex in exchange for furthering her career and reneging is despicable. Her story and strength are beyond just entertaining because it's a true story. Respect and thanks to her and the people who did such a great job on this documentary.