I Am Woman (2020)

In 1966, a young Australian singer (Tilda Cobham Hervey) and her 3 year old daughter arrive in New York where she believes she has a recording contract, only to find out she doesn't. She struggles to make a career but it isn't until she meets a brash hustler (Evan Peters) and moves to Los Angeles that her career takes off. Based on the career of singer Helen Reddy and directed by Unjoo Moon (better known for her documentaries). As far as movie biopics go, this one stands up better than most. Reddy didn't hit the skids with alcohol and drugs (it was her second husband who went the cocaine route) only to make a comeback. The film aligns her career with the feminist movement, notably her hit song I Am Woman, and portrays her struggle as a woman in a male chauvinist business. The irony isn't lost that a feminist icon has her career sabotaged by voluntarily handing over her career and finances to a cocaine sniffing male. The film also focuses on her friendship with the rock critic and writer Lilian Roxon (Danielle MacDonald) who wrote the influential ROCK ENCYCLOPEDIA. Tilda Cobham Hervey does her own singing and she does a good job of approximating Reddy's vocal style. Alas, the film fell victim to the current pandemic so its theatrical release was scrapped and the film went direct to streaming. Reddy got an opportunity to see the film before her recent death. You don't have to be a Reddy fan to enjoy the film. With Chris Parnell and Molly Broadstock.