A Film About Melania Trump? Might As Well Call This Film “The Real Housewife of Washington, D.C.!”
America's "250 Years…250 Movies"
In honour of our country's 250th birthday, I'm reviewing 250 of their amazing flicks! Keep on the lookout, patriots!
Most first ladies tend to be rather divisive figures. Some have been revered as cultural icons, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy (a great advocate and style icon respectively.) Others, however, have come under fire for being hypocritical or counterproductive in their work- Laura Bush, for example, for supporting the infamous No Child Left Behind Act despite her support for childhood literacy. However, no First Lady has been quite as divisive as Melania Trump, the 45th (and 47th!) 1st lady of the United States- she’s seen as something as a “MAGA bimbo” with the liberal crowd due to her equally divisive husband Donald, but is more popular with the alt-right. And yet, she somehow managed to score a film deal about her journey regaining her position as her husband takes the stage as U.S. President (again.) Go figure.
The film follows Melania Trump (who else?) in her work trying to get things organized before the events of January 20th, 2025, I.e. Trump’s re-inauguration day. Is it easy for her? No, but a woman in her position, especially a woman like her, rarely has it so. Along the way, we get an overview of her academic accomplishments (she has a degree in architecture, after all) as well as her work in mental health and anti-bullying, as well as all the stylish dresses she wears. (And boy, are they stylish!)
Is it any good? Well, it all depends if you’re a Trump supporter and all. That being said, even die-hard Melania fans might find the film to be more than a bit frivolous, as it presents itself as little more than a glorification of Mrs. Trump. While her activism in children’s health, briefly touched up here, is arguably admirable, more attention in the film is paid to her fashion and style. Granted, that’s pretty much par the course for First Ladies and other women in contemporary politics, especially if she’s a supermodel like Melania. At times, the film feels more like a reality TV show in the style of the Real Housewives franchise than an actual documentary, let alone one about the most important woman in the country. It really makes you wonder if her predecessors would ever do anything like this.
In short, this was an okay, but somewhat underwhelming, film about Melania Trump. Even fans of her might find it a bit difficult to take. 2 1/2 stars out of 5.
Jennifer Rose is an author with autism, novelist, and film critic based in New Jersey. She is the author of Manimal Crackers (GenZ Publishing, 2026) and It's Not a Perfect World, But I'll Take It (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016), fifty unsugarcoated life lessons on growing up on the spectrum. A graduate of St. Elizabeth University currently studying Library Science at William Paterson University, she writes blog posts and reviews movies at jenniferroseauthor.com, including all 250 in honor of the country's 250th birthday, and is building Autonomy, an online literary magazine and hub where writers on the autism spectrum can share their art, writing, and musings with the world.
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