Scandalous: The True Story of the National Enquirer (2019)

“Becoming a famous celebrity is a trade-off. You want the public to admire you. That’s not free. That’s not free. You have to give, in return, some access to your life. What you give up is anonymity.” – Barbara Sternig

Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 Jun 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Documentary about the way that the gossip magazine The National Enquirer became so popular during the 80’s and lead the way for reality TV and celebrity gossip t become so integral to the way we all live our lives.

My Take on it – This is a film that I heard about not long ago and was quite intrigued to see what it was all about especially given the fact that as a teen in the 80’s, everyone always joked about the kind of stories that would appear in The National Enquirer.

This movie is able to show how a small publishing company could end up becoming so popular due to the way that they handled their stories.

They have made a huge impact on the way that average people see the life of celebrities and the gossip levels have reached such heights due largely to what the people at the Enquirer started.

This film does a wonderful job allowing us to get information via interviews with many of the key figures in the newspaper’s ranks over the years and they help the viewer get a better idea of how their system worked and how in turn it affected the way of the world due to the results of some of their famous stories.

The stories that these people tell still resonate so well today since many of the key celebrities discussed here are still causing the same kind of trouble from decades ago.

Wat’s truly amazing here is the fact that some of the stories told here are really informative and in hindsight, it’s easy to see that events and situations that were supposedly kept secret years ago, are now common knowledge about some of these very important and famous people who have, if anything, at least been consistent with their behavior over the years.

Bottom Line – Quite interesting film that is able to show how a small publishing company became so popular and led the way for a huge change in the way that we all see gossip and celebrity scandals over such a short period of time. The film does a great job showing the history and purpose of the magazine in a very intriguing way. Love the way that they are able to give us interviews with many of the key people in the magazines early days and that allows the viewer to get much insight into how and why things played out as they did. The stories told by some of these reporters and editors resonate so well and it’s amazing how even after so many years, some of these celebrity stories are so informative about information that was kept secret in the past but are now known by all. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – In memory of Jerome “Jerry” George (1955-2019) (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)