Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Language, sex, drinking, and drugs in docu on icon.
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Martha
What's the Story?
MARTHA Stewart has been both a popular and a controversial figure in the public imagination for decades. This documentary offers her insights and recounting of her own life story, from beloved daughter to 1950s model, from college student to married mother, and from homemaker to Wall Street investor to media mogul. Along the way, she became the first self-made female billionaire, a one-woman conglomerate, and the "original influencer" who launched the DIY revolution. She also had two failed relationships and spent five months in prison for insider trading. When she came out, she had to reinvent herself. Her own on-camera interview and sharing of personal letters and diary entries is punctuated with quotes from friends and acquaintances in voiceover, as well as a slew of images, headlines, and footage from her life and work.
Is It Any Good?
A well-paced but overly lengthy documentary about a fascinating woman, this film does what you hope it will by offering new information about a very public figure. Martha director Cutler has included dozens of audio interviews to complement the on-camera interview with the woman herself. Martha has also provided what's billed as "never-before-seen photos, letters, and diary entries." There are insights into her childhood, what drives her, how she feels about her perfectionism and her romantic relationships, how she experienced her months in prison. But the film runs long, and some of the same images are shown again and again. You can't help but wonder how the self-proclaimed perfectionist might have edited this film differently, were she given the chance.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why Martha is called the "original influencer."
Did you empathize with Martha Stewart in this film? How so, or why not?
What did you think of the accusations that James Comey and others were on a "bitch hunt" when she was accused, arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for insider trading?
Was there anything missing for you in this film? Any sections that felt too detailed?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 30, 2024
- Cast : Martha Stewart , Snoop Dogg
- Director : R.J. Cutler
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : History
- Run time : 114 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language including a sexual reference, and brief drug use
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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