Although the film does make reference to the wider social relevance of disco and the period around it, the focus points of this film are the queens of the title. Starting with Gloria Gaynor, the first queen of disco, the documentary looks at Donna Summer, Grace Jones, Sylvester, Chaka Khan and eventually the revisionist approach of Madonna.
Despite being presented by Graham Norton (what an obvious and rather lazy choice) and taking on too much material for the short running time, this film is actually quite interesting for those with a passing interest in disco music. However by trying to cover six stars it leaves only about ten minutes to do each justice. This is fine if all you are looking for is a bit of a skim over the biggest events in the careers of these stars because this is what it delivers. For me personally I learnt things that I didn't know about all of the artists and it was quite interesting to hear about suicide attempts, the origins of songs and so on. However if you already know these things then you'll probably be quite bored.
The contributions should have helped make it a little more interesting if you know it already, although I must admit that some of them are a little thin. Having people close to the artists talking is always good (even if some of them were tenuous professional links) and so it is here as they explain and expand on the events of the artists' careers. As with all these things there are contributors who you wonder why on earth they are in here, but fortunately people like Birds of a Feather's Linda Robson (whooooo?) are kept to a few pointless throwaway comments.
Overall then an accessible but superficial look at a handful of the big disco stars. If you have a passing interest in the subject or just like the music then it should be entertaining; however if you know even a bit about their careers then this will just be telling you what you already know without giving too much extra insight.
Despite being presented by Graham Norton (what an obvious and rather lazy choice) and taking on too much material for the short running time, this film is actually quite interesting for those with a passing interest in disco music. However by trying to cover six stars it leaves only about ten minutes to do each justice. This is fine if all you are looking for is a bit of a skim over the biggest events in the careers of these stars because this is what it delivers. For me personally I learnt things that I didn't know about all of the artists and it was quite interesting to hear about suicide attempts, the origins of songs and so on. However if you already know these things then you'll probably be quite bored.
The contributions should have helped make it a little more interesting if you know it already, although I must admit that some of them are a little thin. Having people close to the artists talking is always good (even if some of them were tenuous professional links) and so it is here as they explain and expand on the events of the artists' careers. As with all these things there are contributors who you wonder why on earth they are in here, but fortunately people like Birds of a Feather's Linda Robson (whooooo?) are kept to a few pointless throwaway comments.
Overall then an accessible but superficial look at a handful of the big disco stars. If you have a passing interest in the subject or just like the music then it should be entertaining; however if you know even a bit about their careers then this will just be telling you what you already know without giving too much extra insight.
