Why Melania's hit documentary terrifies critics who desperately wanted her to fail
The film "Melania," a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump, made nearly $8 million on its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing documentary in a decade. It’s a huge win for the first lady and a crushing defeat for those rooting against her.
The director of "Melania," Brett Ratner, has previously helmed Hollywood blockbusters such as "Rush Hour" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." The fact that Ratner is already an established brand in Hollywood is noteworthy. During the first Trump term, it would have been unlikely that a Hollywood director would take a chance on a documentary about Melania Trump. Ratner still took a risk making the film, because Hollywood is traditionally lockstep on politics and quick to cut off anyone who steps outside the line. It’s easier to make a film like this in 2026 than it was in 2017, but only marginally so.
The film is a soft-focus look at Melania Trump’s life as first lady, offering a glossy, feel-good glance into what people normally don’t get to see inside the private first lady’s life. Still, it wouldn’t have mattered what was in the film — the media would have hated it anyway.
OLDER WOMEN DRIVE 'MELANIA' DOCUMENTARY TO BOX OFFICE SUCCESS WITH $7M OPENING WEEKEND
The reviews in the mainstream press aren’t so much scathing as personal. Variety called the film a "cheeseball infomercial of staggering inertia," while The Guardian noted it was "dispiriting, deadly and unrevealing" and "unredeemable."
In the film, it’s true we see Melania in her beautiful outfits and flawless makeup, but we also see her as the woman behind the man.
In one scene in the film, Melania advises the president to include the word "unifier" in his inaugural speech. On Jan. 20, as he said the words, "My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier," the president turned around to look at his wife. Of course, Melania wants her husband to be both a peacemaker and a unifier. She is rooting for him to succeed because it helps us all. A vicious media refuses to concede that she may want what is best for the country.
The film portrays a marriage where the first lady cares about her husband, worrying about his security on Inauguration Day and expressing relief when festivities are moved indoors. This portrayal flies in the face of the frequent commentary claiming the marriage is in name only. Why would the first lady care about her husband’s safety if she’s only in the union for glory or money? The New York Times counted how many days Melania has spent in the White House during this term, and Trump biographer Michael Wolff has claimed, without evidence, that they are separated. This film answers those accusations and rumors directly, in Melania’s own words.
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In a 2018 interview with ABC, Melania was asked about her marriage and said, "I know people like to speculate and media like to speculate about our marriage. It's not always pleasant, of course. But I know what is right and what is wrong and what is true or not true."
She does, and she shows it in this film.
On the review site Rotten Tomatoes, the film "Melania" is setting another kind of record: the largest discrepancy between the scores of film reviewers and filmgoers in the site’s history. It makes sense, since most of the reviewers went into the film with a rating in mind, whether or not they actually enjoyed the movie. The people who spent their money to go watch their first lady on the screen were going to be more honest, even if some were swayed by their enthusiasm for their president.
The media has three more years of the Trump administration and Melania Trump. They can stop having outbursts about the first lady and give her a fair hearing — something more than half the country would commend. Or they can continue to descend into irrelevance, as everyone knows even their panning of a film will be political. The choice is theirs.