Director Amy Berg’s documentary reconstructs the life of Janis Joplin, the gifted singer whose 1970 death from a heroin overdose made her a member of the 27 Club — pop figures who never made it past that age.
It’s poignant to see all the now-elderly people who knew Joplin in her prime, during the hairy, trippy glory days of the late 1960s. As a Texas teenager, Joplin was tormented for her rough looks. Berg subtly shows that Joplin, her voice and personality ablaze, in fact was a stunning woman. Berg goes lightly on Joplin’s bisexuality in favor of her affairs with men, ranging from Ron “Pigpen” McKernan of the Grateful Dead to (possibly) Dick Cavett.
The movie doesn’t rise above its music-doc formula of photo, clip, talking head. But for fans — like me — it’s a heartfelt, engrossing tribute.