In a year of great documentaries, some are going to get lost, and this one tops the list. That’s a shame because I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story has the best sense of humor of the lot. It kind of had to, didn’t it? Basing your entire life about a cardboard cutout of Zayn Malik of One Direction is insane, right? Why, that would be like deriving inspiration and career goals from a poster of Tom Brady…what fool would do that?
Close your eyes. Wait. Don’t close them; else you can’t read this. Imagine closing your eyes and picturing a fangirl, somebody who worships at the altar of a boy band … what do you see? Band inspired clothing, memorabilia, dedication, scrap book with extensive decoupage, maybe? A notebook with “Mrs. (name of bandmember)” repeated up and down pages not unlike “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and photos, photos, photos everywhere, right? Maybe you see a tour schedule with dates circled. Maybe you see a diary filled with intimate thoughts so poorly considered or phrased so awkwardly that people who dress in cloaks and write Harry Potter fan fiction make fun of them. What do you see next? Video letter and confessionals to people who never write back? An obsession that jeopardizes school grades, maybe? And one that certainly keeps peers at bay. You’re not wrong; not on most counts, at least.
Now here’s where it gets, imho, fascinating: Picture the women those fangirls grow up to be. What do you see? Loneliness? Cat lady syndrome? Poorly adjusted? Unable to carve out a life among “normals,” perhaps? Unresolved obsession leading to stunted maturity and lack or growth? That’s what I thought. And I am waaaaaaaaay wrong. I Used to Be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story focuses on four ladies, each from a different geography, each of a different age, and each a fan of a different boy band. And damned if they don’t sound … normal; in fact, they all seem to be doing much better than I am.
Elif is a teen from Long Island. She would give two kidneys and a lung to be put on One Direction’s “do not call” list. She’s saner now that some time has passed and, dare I say, happy despite the failure to birth Zayn’s lovechild.
San Franciscan Sadia still treasures the website she made to honor her past love for the Backstreet Boys. She’s a tad embarrassed about who she was, but not about what she loved. She’s now a professional agent.
Once upon a time, Dara from Sydney wanted to be with Gary Barlow of Take That. Turns out she’s gay and she just wanted to be Gary Barlow of Take That. HA! There’s a twist. She came out, got married, and shares her past obsession with a partner who was just as twisted in another direction. They laugh and indulge one another.
Susan from Melbourne got really into the Beatles in the 1960s … so she became a crazed old maid cat lady, right? “Husband and children,” Whaaaaaa?! I would have sworn she made nothing of her life. Take That, me! “One Direction, me!”
In fact all of these women have a career path and a modicum of happiness. They also seem to have developed, to a person, a perspective on their passion. They don’t disown it or deny it, but they can step back from their boy band love. I would never have guessed that.
My favorite part of this exposé is when director Jessica Leski backs away from the portrayals to diagram the repeated commonalities of boy bands throughout the modern age: the number of members, the assigned roles, the stage performance rules, etc. After watching this, I think I could put a boy band together myself; now if only I knew some cute teens with a ton of talent easily manipulated to appear less useful than their cutes.
The goal of every movie is to entertain; the goal of every documentary is to change the way you think about something. This film hit the latter like a gong. My big take away from I Used to Be Normal is these fangirls grew up to be “normal,” whatever that means. Was there method to this madness? Was their love of the unattainable genuine or just a shield to get through high school with a minimum of idiocy? I say both. I think the girls who pour themselves into boy bands generally enjoy their obsession, yes, but I suspect part of their adoration evolves from a subconscious urge to cope with teenage blues on their own terms. I would have guessed these women were all daft. But they’re not. Far from it, in fact. Right now, every woman in this film has a more promising career than I have. If I’d only been into Zayn Malik…
♪Baby I dig Direction, One
There’s no need for you to want to fall in love
Our relationship has no chance to last
There’s a sign written on my heart
No flings attached♫
Not Rated, 86 Minutes
Director: Jessica Leski
Writer: Larger T. Life
Genre: Oh, teens! I mean, adults! I mean, people!
Person most likely to enjoy this film: Boyband groupies and former groupies
Person least likely to enjoy the film: Their would-be boyfriends
♪ Parody Inspired by “No Strings Attached”
