Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Gaga: Five Foot Two aims to offer viewers an intimate look at Lady Gaga as she battles through physical illness and the artistic struggles of recording a new album. This is supposed to be “Gaga Unplugged,” and totally vulnerable. While she often does open up about her struggles with insecurity — her self-doubt often stoked by the men around her — she constantly sings the praises of one man in particular: Mark Ronson.
Ronson frequently pops up onscreen as the producer behind her album Joanne. He stands out in the film as a sort of anchor to the creative melée taking place, and as a keen, kind collaborator. As Decider’s own Joe Reid put it in his TIFF review of the film, Mark Ronson “might be the most charming thing on the screen whenever he’s around.”
Ronson is a big deal in his own right. If you know his name or face, it’s probably because he was the guy behind the ubiquitous 2015 hit “Uptown Funk,” featuring Bruno Mars. Ronson has produced four albums on his own (along with help from his friends), but he is best known within the music industry as a superstar producer. Ronson started out his career in the ’90s as an influential DJ, known for his ability to blend hip hop with old school funk and soul. That may sound like a no-brainer combination now, but in the ’90s, it was still kind of on the edge. Ronson was also a bit of a society page fixation back in the day. He was engaged to a pre-Parks and Recreation Rashida Jones and his family was featured in a New York Magazine article by Nancy Jo Sales.
However, Mark Ronson’s biggest contribution to pop culture is arguably the work he did on Amy Winehouse’s hit album Back to Black. As another recent music doc, Amy, details, Ronson was Winehouse’s friend and producer (and the person who helped her hone the sound of “Rehab”). Ronson also appears in that documentary, but Gaga: Five Foot Two lets him exist in his element, as a musical maestro and laid-back charmer.
Gaga: Five Foot Two is now streaming on Netflix.
