2022's Sheryl had its first screening in March of this year. It's a documentary about Sheryl Crow, a musician out of a small Missouri town who managed to sell over 50 million albums worldwide. If your a Sheryl Crow fan (I dug her 90s stuff), then this is a harmless docu clocking in at 94 minutes. "If It Makes You Happy" well you might as well see it. Natch.

Sheryl portrays Sheryl Crow as self-made, persevered, and female empowered. I also like that she was a huge music fan at a very early age (like myself). Heck, it's not everyday that a background singer for Michael Jackson goes on to make such a huge dent in the world of folk and country rock. Man during that Bad tour Crow had some really spritz-y hair.

Sheryl is a standard documentary but to its credit, it's pretty speedy and unhesitating in its approach. There's the usual archive footage, interviews from colleagues, friends, and family (I never knew Crow was buds with Laura Dern), and the voice of Sheryl Crow herself. My only question is why wasn't Kid Rock and Eric Clapton mentioned? I mean she was close acquaintances with those guys too.

Distributed by Showtime Networks and chronicling Crow's bouts with depression and/or breast cancer, Sheryl has good intentions but at the same time, is a little self-indulgent. Yes Sheryl Crow can sing and play but she hasn't had a bonafide hit in over twenty years (her last LP sold a little over 49,000 copies). Could Sheryl be a ploy to jump-start Sheryl Crow's already recluse career that seems anachronistic with today's musical world? Possibly. Is Sheryl perhaps a postmark to the end of one's metier that has seen at least 7 Top twenty Hits and five platinum albums? Maybe. Sheryl isn't a bad documentary but you have to wonder, was "the first cut the deepest?" Sigh.

This is a story I honestly have wanted to hear for years. From the first time I heard Leaving Las Vegas more than 25 years ago, I knew I was going to enjoy her catalog. I've read up, watched interviews, but this give a great picture of how her career came to be. Ironically, they didn't talk much about Michael Jackson, but they talked enough. No mention of her many backing vocals for the likes of Don Henley.

I think what I found most fascinating was the Lance Armstrong relationship. Again, it didn't take much conversation, she was just straight forward and to the point. No mention of Kid Rock, but again, it was her story to tell.

I like Sheryl, but have long left the bandwagon, once she went more country and honkytonk, it just wasn't for me. Her first two albums are classics in my catalog and most like the reason she still draws a crowd today. I think she is far more complicated than she wants anyone to know, but I respect her privacy.

As "Sheryl" (2022 release; 95 min) opens, we are at the Gorge Amphitheater, and Sheryl addresses the camera about her life. We then go to "Bennett, Missouri" where Sheryl grew up and simply loved music. After doing the vocals for a McDonald's commercial, Sheryl decides to move to Los Angeles... At this [point we are less than 10 min into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is directed by Amy Scott (2018's "Hal"). More importantly, this documentary is utterly and completely approved and controlled by Sheryl Crow herself. She does most of the talking and it's all very straight-forward. Yes, th ere is the unwanted sexual harassment by Michael Jackson's manager and the "controversy" around the "Leaving Las Vegas" song title ("borrowed from John O'Brien's book of the same name). And of course there is the background behind some of her greatest and most beloved songs. I> am a big Sheryl Crown fan, who is pretty much the same age as me, and had all of her first decade's albums. So I really wanted to like this documentary. But I found it too bland, too straight-forward. Do I know Sheryl Crow any better now that I've seen this documentary? Not really. Is this documentary outright 'bad'? No, but it does feel like a missed opportunity. I think the definitive Sheryl Crow will be made some other time.

"Sheryl" premiered this weekend on Showtime, and being the big Crow fan that I am, I didn't hesitate to check it out. I can't help but feel a little let down by the film. But of course don't take my word for it, so I encourage you to check it out and draw your own conclusion.