Hello!!! This past weekend I got hit with the plague and didn’t get out of bed from Friday evening until Monday morning. It was boring, lonely, and disappointing because I had to miss out on a big work event that I was really looking forward to. All I could do was lay in my own misery, drink blue Gatorade, and watch a TON of TV. Now, I love a binge watch marathon just as much as the next person but this was way too much! Despite being completely blah about the situation and feeling my brains rotting, I did plow through a movie and several documentaries that I was meaning to watch so let’s discuss:
Piggy:
*Trigger warning* As a huge horror movie fan, I see a lot on my Facebook newsfeed about movies and shows that I might like. Earlier in the week, I learned about a Spanish horror movie called Piggy that was on Hulu. Long story short, it was about a girl named Sara who struggled with her weight and was bullied horrifically for it. A serial killer clocks her turmoil and abducts her tormentors and it is up to her to be either the hero or villain. It. Was. Phenomenal!
While I deeply enjoy American horror films, foreign scary movies are where it’s at. This flick didn’t offer too many jump scares but it was completely harrowing from start to finish. Sara was a character that was so easy to feel sympathetic for and was portrayed beautifully. Piggy had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through because she could be as monstrous as the killer or become a heroine. Watching her battle with this until making her final decision kept me guessing and engaged the whole way through. Highly recommend.
Dirty Pop:
My blogging bestie, Kate, and I revel in discussing documentaries together and when she told me about a new release on Netflix called Dirty Pop, I was all in. This doc was all about the founding of two of the biggest boy bands of all time, the Backstreet Boys and Nsync, under the guidance of Lou Pearlman. What seemed like the most wonderful dream come true thanks to Lou ended up being a nightmare for the bands and Pearlman’s “investors”. While Lou was living a life of luxury, the bands were making chump change. Eventually, the bands parted ways with Lou but that didn’t stop him from cultivating more popular boy bands of Y2K. How did he do it? By conducting the longest running Ponzi Scheme in history.
As a forever fan of this era of pop, I was totally shocked. I had no idea about any of this let alone who Lou Pearlman was. It was so crazy and sad to see such exorbitant spending on Lou’s part with absolutely no regards for the people he was hurting. So many of his investors lost their life savings because of him and I truly believe he didn’t plan on stopping or paying anyone back until he got caught. If you are always going to be stuck in your boy band era like me, this is a must watch!
The Man With 1000 Kids:
The Man With 1000 Kids was another Netflix documentary that Kate recommended and, once again, I was all in. Lol, what can I say we have very similar tastes! This doc was about a serial sperm donor named Jonathan Meijer who spread his seed throughout the Netherlands and countless other countries to people who were desperate to have a baby. There is a cap for the amount of times you can donate sperm in every country to avoid the risk of accidental incest. Jonathan never got the memo apparently and his offspring is estimated to be at around 1,000 worldwide despite his consistent low balling.
What a wild ride this documentary was! There were shocking twists and turns with every episode that literally had me clutching my pearls. It was incredibly difficult to watch the people who chose Jonathan as their donor struggle so badly when they learned about what he was doing. They had genuine fear for their children and rightly so. Thanks to the hard work of the parents who banded together to stop Jonathan, he was taken to court. The results? You’ll just have to watch it. 🙂
America’s Sweethearts:
*Trigger warning* And, finally, the last Netflix documentary I watched was called America’s Sweethearts and was all about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I’m not really sure why I chose to watch this because it normally wouldn’t be my first choice. I’m glad I did, though, because it was addicting from the jump. This show explored the process of auditioning to be a part of the elite DCC squad, their training camp, and performing at football games. I was blown away by the talent, hard work, and drive of all of the cheerleaders. It had my old ass wanting to be a DCC girl too!
This doc was highly entertaining but I think it could be very triggering for people who are struggling with body image as a lot of the girls on the squad did too. As someone who had an eating disorder, it was hard to watch the girls meticulously counting calories, having meager meals, and being told their tummies need toned even if they are accomplished athletes in their own right. I had mixed emotions about America’s Sweethearts because being a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader was a dream to every girl auditioning. But at what cost? You could literally see the mental health of some of the girls deteriorating and it made me hurt for them. If this is something you are comfortable watching, I would still recommend it and I am hoping for another season.
Even though I was bored to tears, I did enjoy the movie and documentaries I watched a lot. I am also happy I am feeling almost all the way better so I can take a break from the boob tube!!
Have you watched anything good recently? What are you currently binging on? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
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